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WITH 265 SUPERB PHOTOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS 


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THE ONLY BOOK ON THIS FASCINATING SUBJECT 


OLD GLASS 


European and American 


By N. HUDSON MOORE 
Author of “The Old Clock Book,” etc. 


This book deals with the development of 
glass making in Europe and America. As a 
source book, it will prove valuable to collec- 
tors who have been looking for an adequate 
treatment of this subject. 


Beginning with the early Roman 
glassmakers the author relates the 
progress of glass making as a fine art. 
The color, composition and workman- 
ship of glass products as manufactured 
in different countries is minutely de- 
scribed. The markings and methods of 
distinguishing genuine old glass are not 
only carefully explained but the book 
is distinguished by the unusual number 
of illustrations gathered together by the 
author from museums, private collectors 
and other sources. 


The volume is particularly valuable in its 
relation to early American glass. To our 
knowledge, it is the only book that covers this 
subject. 


With 265 notable illustrations from 
photographs 











OLD GLASS 
EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN 


“Decanters, Rummers, Drams and Masons, 
Flutes, Hob-nobs, Crofts and Finger Baisins, 
Proof Bottles, Goblets, Cans and Wines, 
Punch Juggs, Liqueurs and Gardevines, 
Salts, Mustards, Salads, Butter Keelers, 

And all that’s sold by other dealers. 
Engraved or cut in newest taste, 

Or plain, whichever pleases best.” 


Cork New Evening Post. 1792. 










be Gy a vw Co. oe r) 

e rah he - 
wa5 it’, Lit emer 
a he ; 


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= 
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, 
—) 





STIEGEL CUP, BUSWELL COLLECTION 


(Frontispiece) 


OLD GLASS 


EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN 


BY 
N. HUDSON MOORE 


AUTHOR OF 


“THe Otp CLock Book,” “THE Otp Cuina Book,” 
“THE OLD FURNITURE Book,” “OLD PEWTER, 
Brass, COPPER AND SHEFFIELD PLATE,” 

“THE OLp Lace Book,” ETC. 


WITH TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FIVE 
ILLUSTRATIONS 


TUDOR PUBLISHING CO. 
NEW YORK 


Copyright, 1924, by 
FREDERICK A. StoKEs COMPANY 





All rights reserved 


Published, November 1, 1924 
Second Printing, November 28, 1924 
Third Printing, December 20, 1924 
Fourth Printing, January 25, 1926 
Fifth Printing, November 15, 1927 
Sixth Printing, November 13, 1931 

New Edition, December 1935 


Printed in the United States of America 


CONTENTS 


PART I 
THE Art or Guass-MaKING . . . . 2 
PORTER eet TUASS kk ee va oes 
MERC NOANEARSS (0 5 he iw lwo ae 
M7CH AND FLemisH GLASS . . . . ». « 
GERMAN GLASS ree career aire te nT a he 
DMO ASS kk et 
Pee ek kk 
Deptt ACe Oe ee we 
ee be, 
PetRePA CSLASS 9 wl. 
eee TUAGS a 
MST ARS i ae a es 
DuBLIN AND Cork Gtass 

PART II 
AMERICAN GLASS 
WISsTARBERG GLASS 
BaIeceEL GLASS . , 
Pian ARTY GiLASS =. . 4 wt ss 
SARATOGA GLASS ee ied pha a 
omens AND FraskKs . . . « 3) 
THREE-SECTION Moutp GLasSs .... «© 


[v] 


108 


169 
174 


195 


209 
213 
220 
251 
280 
283 
305 





CONTENTS 





STODDARD GLASS oe gle We ela Ee re 
Keene Guass 2.0 3, 0s 8 14. 8 


PrrKin GLASS 3 ea ve) ae ose) ke 


Historic Cup-PLaTEs 9. 5 9.9. 5 4) | ee 
SANDWICH. GLASS §.. .  s1's (6 ss) ee 
Mexican Guass'.. 2 88. 
AMERICAN Guass Factorigs . °. . 5 =) ee | 
INDEX rN rr 


[vi] 


mest OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


STIEGEL CUP, BUSWELL COLLECTION ..... Frontispiece 
FIGURE PAGE 
CICERO REG se bk ie cp we eR le ee TS 
5th Century B.C. 
eter ORD see ok el a fe ala ea ee ee AS 
WU TRIA SE CteSR TNL ieee. kas bs ives ew te au ec 16 
I GO OTS Son a er a as & 
18th Century. 
PEER i re ew eed ee hs ee ok ES 
IRE S OOS R OM, Pegs ee se ne ie ge oe 1g 
foe COVERED CUP. . 2... we we wl Uw wl lw 19 
8 GOBLET WITH WINGED STEM . 20 


From an Original of the 15th Century in Tonsieperetie 
Museum, Berlin. Venezia Murano Company, Venice. 


9 VENETIAN TAZZA . . 20 
From 15th Century Griging? 3 in the Marcsint: Gallery, Venice! 

10. GOBLET WITH WINGED STEM .. . 21 
From an Original of the 15th Century in the Britek Ri aseura, 

11. VITRO DI TRINA WINE GLASS .. . 21 


Vitro di Trina Glass from Original of the “15th Century in 
the Murano Museum. 


MEE SIMMS EE WV ECR oo eee ee e's Pe ey ae wee | eR 
Italian, 16th Century. 

13. DRINKING VESSELS AND EWER. ..... . .«. 39 
Venetian. d 

ETC NV ONS.) eis oe eg ie be rh ee) ee se, 4D 
Venice, 19th Century. 

15. BOHEMIAN GLASS, DIAMOND ENGRAVED .... . 39 

16. BOHEMIAN GLASS, PAINTED . . 40 


Clear Glass, Cylindrical, Painted with Two Coats af Arms, 
an Inscription in Gilt and the Date 1868. 


[ vii ] 


a 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


eens 


FIGURE 


17. 


18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 


23. 


24. 


25. 


26. 


27. 


28. 


29. 


30. 


31. 


32. 


COVERED GOBLET 
Goblet with Cover, Green Gissee Rageaved: Ani with an 
Inscription. A Silver-gilt Openwork Foot, and on the Cover 
Silver-gilt Figure of a Dog Standing, with the Initials 

I. A. V. and the Date 1656. 


DEEP-CUT TUMBLER 
KALLIGRAPHEN ORNAMENTE 
DOPPELWANDGLAS 

MILCH GLASS, PAINTED 


COVERED CUPS : » os) a a 
Bohemian Glass Covered Cone “Metropolaan Museum of 


Art. 
BOHEMIAN DECANTERS 


BEHERSCREW, SILVER-GILT . + a 
Dutch Beherscrew, Silver-gilt. 17th Century. Property of 
the City of Amsterdam. 


DUTCH WINDMILL GLASS . ere *;- a Ne 
Dutch Mill Beher. Latticinio and Siivex 17th Century. 


DUTCH GLASS, VENETIAN ‘STYLE .. 3033 
With Diamond Engraving, 17th Century. 
DIAMOND-ENGRAVED GLASS. . ets 


Green Glass, Dutch Diamond Bhgraviag! 1646. 


DUTCH GLASS, GOLD DECORATION . . 
Dutch Green Glass Decorated with Gold, 1606. Ranbler ie 


Prince Maurice of Orange. 


ROEMERS .. . Seeruervar yh 
Dutch Green Glass: ‘Left and Centre 16th Century. Right 
17th Century. 


DIAMOND-ENGRAVED ROEMER : ‘. 
Green Glass, Dutch Diamond Hneravine! 17th Cenbire 


ENGRAVED BOTTLE . +. 6) a 
Green Dutch Bottle. Diamond Engraving, 1684. 


TALL DRINKING GLASS : 
Dutch Glass, Facon de Venise, ith ‘Portratt inf ‘Prince 


[ viii J 


PAGE 


41 


42 
42 
42 
43 
44 


43 


45 


45 


46 


46 


63 


63 


64 


64 


65 





ILLUSTRATIONS 





FIGURE 
Frederick Hendrik of Orange (1625-47). Diamond En- 


graving. 
33. DRINKING GLASS . . ee eee AY 6 
Dutch Glass with Diamond Engraving. Second Half of 
17th Century. 
34-A. ENGRAVED GLASS, GOLD DECORATION 


Green Roemer of 1650 with Heraldry in Diamond Engraving 
of Orange, Spain and the Provinces of the Netherlands. 


34-B. ENGRAVED GLASS, GOLD DECORATION 


SeeCOVERED BIRTH CUP ... ee Seah 8 
Colourless English Crystal Glass. "Dutch Cutting, 18th 
Century. 


36. GERMAN GLASS BEAKER . 
Enamelled Glass Dated 1687. 


37. COVERED CUP 

38. “WILLKOMMEN” GLASSES 
39. HUNTING GLASSES 

40. GERMAN GLASSES 


41. COVERED CUP, ETCHED AND ENGRAVED 
German. Early 18th Century. 


42. SPANISH LAMP a 
Pale Ambler Glass in + thes Fomn at a Candlestick: Support 
ing a Reservoir with Two Spouts and Serrated Ornament. 
Spanish. Cartagena. 17th Century. 


43. TAZZA, ENAMELLED y Nae rs POEs die 2 
Clear Glass Painted in Enamel iCalouct Spanish. 16th 
Century. 
44. JUG, MOTTLED GLASS . . kame heese dy poe eae & 
Blue and White Mottled Glass. Teeaniaht Cadalso. 17th 
Century. 
45. COVERED BOWL AND TRAY 
Plain Glass with Bouquets and Serrated Borders in Gold: 
18th Century. Spanish. 


46. GLASS BOWL, ENGRAVED . . 
Plain Glass, Oval Bowl with Lip, Engraved with a Chateau 


[ ix ] 


PAGE 





ILLUSTRATIONS 





FIGURE PAGE 
and Trees. Winged Handle Ending in a Shell. Spanish. 18th 
Century. San Ildefonso. 


47. COVERED CUP, WITH CUTTING . Sa ei aa 
Standing Glass with Cover. Plain lane Richly Cut. Span- 
ish. San Ildefonso. 18th Century. 


48. GOBLET, CUT AND ENGRAVED wie 
Plain Glass, Cut and Engraved. Spanish. San Ildefonso, 
18th Century. 


49. SPANISH DRINKING VESSEL . . 111 
Bottle. Plain Glass with Long Neck and Trefoil Mouth, 
Surrounded by Latticinio Lines, with Long Spout. Used as 
Drinking Wine. 18th Century. Spanish. 


£ 


50. FRENCH BOTTLE, ENAMELLED .. pee ee 
51. BEAKER, ENAMELLED) . 4.05.) 5. 6) Se 
52, FRENCH VASE fo 6 5 5) a 0? tee pe 
53. BOTTLE, CLEAR GLASS MPM IeErer ene oe 
54. BARREL-SHAPED FLASK ‘ = .0 2°20 3) 
55. WINE GLASS WITH COIN IN STEM (27> 
56. FRENCH JUG, CLEAR GUASS 2...) S56 5g 
57. ENGLISH WINE GLASSES . 2 2.) tc 
58. WINE GLASSES WITH KNOPPED STEMS .. .. . 115 
59. FOUR GROUPS OF STEMS . . 2 2 ee 
60. SET OF ENGLISH CUT GLASS . 2S 3 ees 
61. SET OF LUSTRES 00.0.0 5 8 5. 
62. ADAM ‘CHANDELIERS =. 2) 5. 7 Se 
63. STANDING LIGHTS 0 29.) 2 £2 
64. BRISTOL GLASS © 3.0. %\.4 8) 6) i ee 
65. BRISTOL VASE 2.0.06 0) 2) 5 
66. BRISTOL VASE... oo 5 0) 3) 
Reverse. 
67. BRISTOL COVERED JAR . 3. 2 (6 (gee estes tee ee 


68. BRISTOL CUT GLASS BOWL . . % 9S eee 


a 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Rss senses 
FIGURE 


69. 
70. 
71. 
72. 
73. 
74. 
75. 
76. 
77. 
78. 
79. 
80. 
81. 


907%. 


91. 


92. 
93. 
94, 


BRISTOL BLUE GLASS 
PAPER-WEIGHT 

NAILSEA FLASKS 
ROLLING-PINS . 
NAILSEA BOTTLES AND JUGS 
CANDELABRA . 

DECANTER, MARKED “PENROSE” 
JUGS, PROBABLY WATERFORD 

BOWL AND CELERY GLASS 
WATERFORD GLASS 

WATERFORD AND CORK TUMBLERS 
GOBLETS, WATERFORD 

DUBLIN OR CORK GLASS 
BOAT-SHAPE AND TURNOVER BOWLS 
BOWL AND BASIN AND TUMBLER 
CORK DECANTER . 

CORK DECANTERS 

CUT GLASS, CORK 

CUT GLASS, CORK... 
MOULDED GLASS, DUBLIN 

GOBLET, DUBLIN 


GOBLET, DUBLIN 
Reverse. 


BLUE STIEGEL, BUSWELL COLLECTION 
THREE WISTARBERG PITCHERS AND WISTARBERG 


VASE 


FOUR EXAMPLES OF DOUBLE-DIPPED GLASS 


AMBER BOWL AND BALL 
BROWN WISTARBERG PITCHER . . 


[xi] 





ILLUS FRATIONS 





FIGURE 


95. 

96. 

97. 

98. 

99. 
100. 
101. 
102. 
103. 
104. 
105. 
106. 
107. 
108. 
109. 
110. 
111. 
112. 
113. 
114. 
115. 
116. 
117. 
118. 
119. 
120. 
121. 
122. 
123. 


SCENT: BOTTLES 2 6 oh in, Covi Res aes 
MORTAR AND. PESTLE > 2.5.5...) 4: eee 
SWEETMEAT)) JAR i \.359. 55) oy a 0 oe ee ee 
GREEN AND AMBER CUP 

PALE GREEN CANDLESTICK 

GROUP OF WISTARBERG 

SOUTH JERSEY PITCHER 

SOUTH JERSEY BOWL, BLUE 

SOUTH JERSEY VASES AND BOWL . 

SOUTH JERSEY BOTTLE GREEN .... . 
SOUTH JERSEY SCENT BOTTLE. . [3 
MILLVILLE, N. J.. GLASS BALL . +s cee 
GLASS BALL, BUSWELL COLLECTION. . .,, 
STIEGEL POCKET BOTTLES, AMETHYST . . 
STIEGEL POCKET BOTTLES 

BLUE AND AMETHYST BOTTLES ...,... 
STIEGEL BOWL. .)..0°:" 2° is 4s | oe 
STIEGEL BOWL WITH BLUE RIM .... . 
STIEGEL JAR (70%. 2 “ets. 3 94) ee 
CLEAR GLASS, STIEGEL . 2.) Ve) wee 
FOUR BLUE FLINT CREAM POTS 

FOUR BLUE AND CLEAR GLASS CREAM POTS 
EWER AND CREAM POT 

BLUE FLINT SALT-CELLARS 

CLEAR AND GREEN GLASS SALT-CELLARS 
VINEGAR AND MUSTARD CRUETS.... . 
BLUE FLINT SUGAR BOWLS ..... « «s 
CLEAR GLASS SUGAR BOWL 

BLUE AND CLEAR GLASS SUGAR BOWLS . 


[ xii ] 





ILLUSTRATIONS 


ence nrc eer eer eS SSS SSS ss SSS 
FIGURE 


124. 
125. 
126. 
127. 
128. 
129. 
130. 
131. 
132. 
133. 
134. 


135. 


136. 
137. 
138. 
139. 


140. 
141. 


142. 
143. 
144. 
145. 
146. 
147. 
148. 
149. 
150. 
151. 
152. 


SUGAR BOWLS, STIEGEL . 
COVERED RUMMER . 

WINE GLASSES WITH PLAIN BOWLS 
WINE GLASSES WITH MOULDED BOWLS 
WINE GLASSES WITH ENGRAVING 
ENGRAVED FLIP GLASSES . 

ENGRAVED AND PANELLEL GLASSES 
ENGRAVED JELLY GLASSES 

COVERED FLIP GLASSES 

BOTTLE WITH PANEL AND DAISY PATTERN 
COVERED PITCHER 

CANDLESTICK 

BLUE FLINT GLASS 

MEDICINE GLASS 

EGG CUP 

BLUE PITCHERS AND COMPOTE 
DECANTER 

MUGS (o>. 

FLIP OF CLEAR GLASS 

PANELLED BOWL 

RUMMER 

ENAMELLED BOTTLES 

STEEPLE DESIGN 

BIRD PATTERN 

DOVE DESIGN 

BLUE AND CLEAR GLASS, STIEGEL 
EARLY BOTTLES 

MOULDED BOTTLE 
IREITAL) cw 6) ees ye wie 


[ xiii ] 


272 


289 
289 
290 
291 
291 
292 





ILLUSTRATIONS 








FIGURE PAGE 
153. EARLY LAMP (40055. 4tle se) Ft 
154. GERMANTOWN: LAMP 9... iss fe) cn ae ee 
155. CLEAR’ GLASS LAMP* 2 oe ee 
186. CUT AND MOULDED LAMP . ... . 33 
is7. LAMP . CHIMNEY oo. Fee. 
is8. CURTAIN KNOBS, OPAL .. . >... [5 
159. CLEAR GLASS KNOBS: .. 2. 20‘. 5 
160. CLEAR GLASS MUG . |.) 200.) 3 4) ABR 
161. MUG WITH LEGS. 2 2 n5 
162. EARLY WINE GLASS . «9. «1s 6 | UR 
163. WINE GLASSES, AIR-TWIST STEMS ..... .*. 296 
164. MEDICINE "GLASS . ~ . 6) su) 0) Se 
165. “RINSING. BOWL 9. 8 woe) 3 8 oe 
166. SARATOGA GLASS =. . . |. . « (2 2 een 
167. ARRANGEMENT OF BOTTLES AND FLASKS .. . . 298 
168. BOOZ BOTTLE AND MOULD ©.) 2) 2) ypiee eee 
169. EARLY ALBANY FLASKS . 22°.) See 
170. KENSINGTON FLASK. 90.0 5 ec 
171. COVENTRY, CONN., FLASK 9 2) 3 Se 
172. KENSINGTON FUASKS ©.) se 3 Se 
173. KOSSUTH AND HUFFSEY BOTTLES) 0) 0) oye 
174. HUFFSEY BOTTLES (5) a) 27 5 ere 
175. BALTIMORE FLASKS 0 2). 05:0 3) (2 ee 
176. BOTTLES AND FLASKS 5 2 55) 35 SRee 
177. FLASKS PP PU 
178. FLASKS -AND BOTTLE ©: ©. 2) (0p ee 
179. FLASKS WITH PEWTER TOPS ~ 32) 
180. ,THREE-SECTION MOULD DECANTER ey ac. bal! sat bn ane 


181. GROUP OF THREE-SECTION MOULD GLASS .. . . 323 


[ xiv | 


A SSeS SSSSesSSSSSRSSSSNS 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


LLL a er NEES 
FIGURE 


182. 
183. 
184. 
185. 
186. 
187. 
188. 
189. 
190. 
191. 
192. 
193. 
194. 
195. 
196. 


197. 
198. 
199, 


200. 
201. 
202. 
203. 
204. 


205. 
206. 
207. 
208. 


SUGAR BOWL, BUSWELL COLLECTION 
THREE-SECTION MOULD PITCHERS 
PINPEGUASS 2. foe. 
BARREL-SHAPED GLASS 

WINE GLASS 

GLASS ASCRIBED TO NEW HANOVER, N. J. 
STODDARD, N. H., BOTTLES 
STODDARD, N. H., BOTTLES 

TWO STODDARD PITCHERS 

TWO STODDARD INKSTANDS 

TWO CLEAR GLASS HATS . 

RUINS OF PITKIN FACTORY 

PITKIN GLASS 

GROUP OF CUP PLATES . 


BENJAMIN FRANKLIN CUP PLATES 


Upper—Genuine, White. 
Lower—Counterfeit, Blue. 


FRIGATE CONSTITUTION . 
GROUP OF CUP PLATES 


LOG-CABIN TEA PLATE AND WHISKEY BOTTLE, 


WHITNEY WORKS 
VIEW OF SANDWICH GLASS-WORKS, 1835 


SANDWICH GLASS DOLPHINS 

CLEAR SANDWICH GLASS . 

CLEAR AND FROSTED SANDWICH GLASS 

RUBY SANDWICH GLASS 

AMETHYST AND HONEY-COLOURED DECANTERS 


SANDWICH GOBLET... . . eye pate ete 
SANDWICH JUG AND CELERY GLASSES 


B. & S. BOAT-SHAPED SALT-CELLAR ...... « 


[ xv J 


330 
330 
331 
332 


333 
334 


335 
336 
353 
354 
355 
356 
356 
356 
357 
358 





ILLUSTRATIONS 





FIGURE PAGE 
200. GLASS, SANDWICH’ . . 2°) 2) 0) 
210. OPAQUE SANDWICH GLASS .°.. . . . eee 
211. OPAQUE AND CLEAR SANDWICH GLASS ... . . 360 
212. COLOURED SANDWICH GLASS. . |. eupe0 een 
213. SANDWICH GLASS <=. ‘\. . |. \.2uueee 
214. GROUP OF MEXICAN GLASS . . . “2 soe een 
215. MEXICAN PITCHER . .-. .). .)) 92 uRenene 
216. MEXICAN COVERED VASE . . . 9 Renee 
217. MEXICAN VASE . 9. 2... = |) (pee 
218. .MODERN MEXICAN GLASS . . 9). 


219. VIEW OF THE GLASS WORKS OF T. W. DYOTT AT; 
KENSINGTON ON THE DELAWARE NEAR PHILA- 


DELPHIA 2.0 owe ke 
220. INTERIOR OF OLD GLASS WORKS . 2) eee 
221. GLASS FROM KENSINGTON GLASS WORKS... . . 368 
222. EARLY DECANTERS =: 2 0. =. 0° 2°) cy 


wee. CUT-GLASS BY CRAIG RITCHIE e 1) je! ‘° ‘e [e) {e! e 368 


[ xvi] 





PT? te ar a 
so ae ares 





OLD GLASS 


THE ART OF GLASS-MAKING 


LTHOUGH this book deals with Old Glass, I 

A am not going back to Tubal Cain. Nor am I 

about to quote what Pliny, the Roman historian 

(A.D. 23 to 79), wrote about its discovery, for there are 

other historians who think he was mistaken, since it is 

impossible to make glass in the open air and under the 
conditions he describes. 

But it is a known fact that the Egyptians were early 
in the field as glass-makers of skill and that the Romans 
copied their product. At the Metropolitan Museum 
in New York, in the Edward C. Moore collection, are 
some beautiful examples of small, coloured, moulded 
Roman glass vases. These vases are said to date back 
to the first century B.c. This period is given by some 
authorities as the date of the invention of the blowpipe. 
From this time till the fifth century, this method— 
blowing in a mould—was in constant use among the 
Roman glass-blowers and the making of glass had 
become a highly developed art. 

In fact the Romans used glass for more domestic 
purposes than it is used at the present day, for having 
no highly glazed or fine porcelain, glass objects, both 





OLD GLASS 





coloured and plain, took their place for household use, 
It is seldom remembered that the Portland or Barberini 
vase in the British Museum, London, which Wedg- 
wood so successfully copied, is of glass, cameo glass 
it was called. This was made by putting successive 
layers of glass over the original gathering, and then 
cutting away the outer coat from the portion which was 
to form the background, leaving the decoration white 
or whatever colour was selected. 

The Barberini vase was found in the sixteenth cen- 
tury in a sarcophagus near Rome. It belonged to the 
Barberini family for nearly two centuries and then 
was bought by the Duchess of Portland and lent to the 
British Museum, where it is still to be seen. This vase 
is supposed to have been made in the time of Antoninus, 
that is, 138-161 A.D. In addition to resisting the cor- 
roding tooth of time, this vase, smashed into many 
pieces by a stick in the hands of a lunatic, has emerged 
again triumphant. It has been restored so successfully 
that it is hardly possible to detect the places where it 
has been joined. 

Constantine the Great (b. 288, d. 337 A.D.) and 
Theodosius II (5. 401, d. 450 A.D.) encouraged glass- 
making in the East and urged skilled workmen to come 
to the seat of their empire, and the making of glass 
flourished greatly. There still remain some of these 
beautiful glass objects, particularly of Greek and 
Roman manufacture, to prove the versatility of the 


~ 


[4] 





THE ART OF GLASS-MAKING 


artists who made them. Two which are owned by the 
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, are shown here. 

Figure 1 is described as a bottle of glass, “Alabastos,” 
with broad lip and two small ears; green, with yellow 
and white wavy lines; from a Greek tomb, probably 
of the fifth century B.c. The second vase, Figure 2, is 
quite as beautiful, and may have been from its small 
size and shape used for some toilet article, holding 
perfume, ointment or some rare drug. It is three and 
a half inches tall, and could have been conveniently 
carried on the person. The colour is blue, and the 
decorations are in turquoise blue and yellow. This 
was also from a Greek tomb, probably of the fifth 
century B.C. 

It was not till the fifth century A.D. that the Western 
world began to challenge the supremacy of the East, 
and the Venetian Republic became the leader in the 
manufacture of glass. The Venetians were clever, they 
sought to prevent the trade secrets of glass-making from 
becoming known. So about the end of the thirteenth 
century they confined their workmen to the Island of 
Murano, which is separated from Venice by a narrow 
strip of water. They traded with countries in the Far 
East and Venice became wealthy through her glass 
trade. 

In this same century and in the fourteenth and fif- 
teenth the Saracens made very choice glass. Dillon in 
“Glass” speaks particularly of the beauty of the enam- 


Figures I and 2, page 15. 





OLD GLASS 


elled pieces, and says that even yet occasional pieces 
are found in England and France. This enamelled 
glass was made in lamps, vases, beakers, and bottles, 
particularly for mosques. It is seldom that a piece 
finds its way to America. 

Figure 3 shows a vase in the Victoria and Albert 
Museum, London. It is 17% inches tall, of clear glass 
painted in enamel colours, chiefly blue and red and 
gold. Round the body is an Arabic inscription in 
Neshky characters, ‘“‘Glory to our Lord the Sultan, the 
wise, just, religious warrior, king.” The first part of 
this is repeated around the neck. From Cairo, of the 
fourteenth century. 

About this period the Germans began to manufacture 
glass, but their product was coarse and heavy, decorated 
with enamels and entirely lacking the grace and beauty 
of the Venetian output. Assyria, India, China, Persia, 
Spain as well as Egypt made glass with more or less 
success, and at different periods. Italy, Germany, the 
Low Countries, France and England were the leaders 
and remain so still, although America is not far behind. 

For centuries the Venetian models were copied 
everywhere. Even Persia used their designs, often 
used decoration of gold, and to-day the modern Persian 
glass differs very little from the Venetian glass of the 
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Figure 4 shows 


some typical pieces which are in the Pennsylvania Mu- 
Figures 3 and 4, pages 16 and 17. . 


\ 


[6] 


THE ART OF GLASS-MAKING 


seum, Philadelphia. They belong to the eighteenth 
century. 

Excelling in all branches of the ceramic art, China 
does not seem to have given the same amount of atten- 
tion to the making of glass. It was mentioned by a 
Chinese writer in 627 A.D., but little is known of the 
manufacture before the eighteenth century. Figure 
5 shows one vase of a pair in dark blue glass, in the 
Victoria and Albert Museum, London. It is engraved 
in relief with an Arabic inscription, and also with the 
seal of Yung-cheng, A.D. 1723-35. 

Figure 6, a vase of sapphire glass, has on it the seal 
mark of Ch’ien-lung, A.D. 1736-95. ‘The Chinese are 
making to-day glass of extreme beauty of colour and 
of graceful shapes, flat bowls, vases, small dishes. The 
colours are greens, blues, soft yellow and a glowing 
ruby, all of them translucent and showing to wonder- 
ful advantage against the light. Under the heading of 
glass may come those entrancing objects used by the 
Chinese for medicine, snuff or perfume. Sometimes 
they are made of clear glass and exquisitely painted on 
the inside with landscapes, birds, fishes, anything which 
appeals to their delicate fancy. Other bottles are cut 
from blocks of glass, coloured quartz or crystal, and 
they make one of the most charming as well as costly 
bibelots which one can collect. For years I have had 
it in my mind that I would own some of these pretty 


things, but since a collector of old American glass, who 
Figures 5 and 6, page 18. 


[7] 





OLD GLASS 


does not hesitate to pay hundreds of dollars for choice 
specimens, advised me to “forget it,” that ruin lay in 
the path of the collector of really choice snuff bottles, 
why, I have tried to follow his advice, and so far I 
have only two. 

Another object which appeals to the collector is the 
ruby shade of Bohemian glass. This they succeeded in 
making during the early part of the seventeenth cen- 
tury. But before they attempted colour they excelled 
in making a superior clear glass. In 1609, Caspar 
Lehmann, a Bohemian glass-worker, invented the proc- 
ess of engraving on glass, which gave a new impulse 
to the industry. ‘The distribution of glass was more 
general and its uses more various than one is apt to 
realise, even at this early period. Craddock, an Eng- 
lishman, writing about 1650, mentions that blown glass, 
“black and strong,” was used in making the black-and- 
white pavements which were so popular. Tournefort, 
the distinguished French botanist who travelled so ex- 
tensively in the East, mentions in 1683 that “in the 
palace at Teflis there were windows glazed with great 
squares of blue, yellow, grey, and other coloured 
glasses.” 

England, curiously enough, seemed content to get 
her rich glass from Venice, in cups, flagons and bottles, 
and not try herself to build up the industry. But during 
the reign of Elizabeth, she appreciated the value of 
glass-works and invited to London a glass-worker 


[8] 


THE ART OF GLASS-MAKING 


named Cornelius De Lannoy; he established glass- 
houses and from this time on the British Isles had an 
important part in the industry. 

Even before this time there had been a little glass 
made in England, but the introduction of flint glass was 
an important step forward. It was made first by the 
Venetians from crystal pebbles which they got from 
their rivers, and ground. When the first Venetian glass- 
makers came to England they used the native flints for 
their glass, and even after silicious sand was used, the 
name flint glass still clung. The old formula for flint 
glass was sand, lead, potash, salpetre and manganese. 
Common glass for bottle-making contained sand, soap- 
er’s waste, gas lime, common clay and rock salt.* 

This latter formula produced a glass which was 
green in colour, known as bottle glass, but when care- 
fully made and rendered colourless by the use of man- 
ganese, it was called crown glass. Apsley Pellatt in his 
“Curiosities of Glass Making,” published in 1849, 
gives many formulas for the making of coloured glass: 

For blue transparent glass, oxide of cobalt was added 
to the formula already given for flint glass. 

For ruby red, oxide of gold was added. 

For amethyst or purple, add oxide of manganese. 

For emerald green, add copper scales and iron ore. 

For common orange, there was added iron and man- 
ganese. 


* Apsley Pellatt: “Curiosities of Glass Making.” 


[9] 


OLD GLASS 


For gold topaz, add oxide of uranium. 

For soft white opaque enamel, add arsenic and an- 
timony. 

For hard white opaque enamel, add putty prepared 
from tin and lead. 

In all batches of material for making aes either 
common, green, or flint, it was found that the “metal,” 
as the molten glass was called, had a much better qual- 
ity if there was added broken glass, even sometimes as 
much as one-quarter in bulk. This was called “‘cullet,” 
and was constantly called for in advertisements, in both 
English and early American newspapers. 

The flint glass of to-day is probably very different 
from that made in the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 
turies. The term is now understood to mean a glass 
composed of silicates of potash and lead. It is the most 
brilliant and colourless of all glasses, and England 
claims that she was the first to perfect it. Hartshorne 
in “Old English Glasses” dates its discovery about 
1663, when a patent for making “crystal glass” was 
taken out by a man named Tilson. On the other hand, 
E. W. Hulme, who spent years investigating the sub- 
ject, and who wrote “English Glass Making in the 
XVI and XVII Centuries,” gives the date as 1730, 
when flint glass in its present form was perfected. 

One of the chief beauties of ancient glass is its pleas- 
ing irregularity. There is a freedom in the decoration, 
often crookedness in the whole object which was the 


[10] 





THE ART OF GLASS-MAKING 


result of hand work. A most important thing in the 
manufacture of glass was the building of the pots in 
which it was made. These were subjected to such in- 
tense heat that the process of making them was a dif- 
ficult one. If not made of the best materials they would 
crack, in which case the metal would be lost. Old 
pots broken up and ground down, then mixed with new 
clay were found to give the best results, the proportion 
being about one to three. These pots were built up 
layer upon layer, each successive layer being carefully 
dried, so that the process was a lengthy one, and from 
six months to a year was not an undue time to give to 
the making. 

The earliest glass was made in open pots with wood 
as a fuel. In order to obtain an abundance of fuel the 
glass-works were situated in the country. In the year 
1641, a bill was introduced in England to stop the fell- 
ing of trees for burning glass, and from the last quarter 
of the seventeenth century, glass-works were in or near 
towns where coal could be obtained. With the use of 
coal, gases arose which were injurious to the molten 
metal, so it was found necessary to cover the pots. 

The number of pots which glass-houses employed 
varied. Dudley Westropp, in his book on “Irish 
Glass,” gives as follows the method of working a ten- 
pot furnace: 

“Each glass-blower had a chair with long arms on 
which he rotated the blowing-iron with the gathering 


Car xe! 


ae 


OLD GLASS 


eds 





of glass. The four or five chair system was the one 
usually employed. For a ten-pot furnace four or five 
sets of workmen would be employed in making the 
glass objects while the other four or five rested. The 
first chair was termed the castor hole chair, consisting 
of a blower and three assistants, known as servitor, 
footmaker, and taker-in or boy, and was used for large 
pieces, jugs, decanters, etc. This chair had an empty 
pot heated with dried beechwood, for reheating the 
glass. 

‘The second chair, consisting of four workmen, made 
fancy articles, goods required for cutting, chemical ap- 
paratus, etc. This chair reheated the glass at the mouth 
of one of the pots containing fluid metal. The third 
chair, also consisting of four workmen, made almost 
exclusively wine glasses, goblets, tumblers, lamp chim- 
neys, etc. The fourth chair, consisting of four or five 
workmen, did not require such skilled operators as the 
other three, and made chiefly phials and small articles.” 

The tools used by glass-makers have varied little in 
several centuries. A list of tools published in “The 
Toast,” 1747, reads, “bars, paddles, rakes, ladles, pipes, 
pontee stakes, shears, scissors, crannies and towers.” 
Hunter, in ‘“Stiegel Glass,” gives as the tools employed, 
blow-pipe, pucellas, which are a pair of shears looking 
something like garden shears, and used for everything 
but cutting, the blades being dull. There are also 
short-bladed shears, tongs for picking up small objects, 


[ 12] 





THE ART OF GLASS-MAKING 


a trowel-like tool with a handle, used for shaping, and 
finally the pontil or punty. 

In addition to the glass-maker’s chair with arms, he 
also uses a stout table with an iron top, called a mar- 
ver, on which he rolls into shape the small bunch of 
glass, called the “gathering,” which he has attached to 
the blow-pipe. 

In “Glass Making in All Ages,” Walter Rosenhain 
says: ‘Large objects like carboys were difficult to blow 
on account of the weight of glass to be handled by the 
gatherer and blower. In the old days the only aid 
available to the blower was the method of injecting into 
the partially blown carboy a small quantity of either 
water or alcohol. This liquid was vaporized immedi- 
ately by the heat of the glass, and if the blower held 
his thumb over the opening in the blowpipe, the force 
of the vapor blew out the glass to the proper extent.” 

The cooling of glass objects is almost as important 
as blowing them. For too sudden chilling renders them 
liable to break. They are gradually cooled by plac- 
ing them in an annealing oven which is allowed to 
grow cool slowly, or by slowly removing the glass from 
a constant source of heat. 

It requires considerable skill to coil the proper 
amount of glass on an iron rod four feet long. This 
mass of glass is slightly rolled on the marver to solidify 
it, and then somewhat hollowed by blowing. 

The moulds were used to give shape to the vessels, 


OLD GLASS 


and also to impress patterns. upon them. They were 
formerly made of wood or iron. 

The operation of cutting glass from the brilliant 
lead glass blanks is now purely mechanical. The old 
and new methods are contrasted in ‘“The Journal of In- 
dustrial and Engineering Chemistry.” ‘Patterns were 
marked out on the blank, and steel wheels, with mitred 
edges and armed with trickling sand and water, were 
used to make the deep cuts and the finer tracery. Stone 
wheels next smoothed the roughly cut surfaces. 

‘Wooden wheels with pumice and water gave an ap- 
proach to a polish, and finally rapidly revolving 
brushes with putty powder (tin oxide) gave a high 
finish. The men who operated these four types of ap- 
paratus were all highly skilled and highly paid. About 
1895 attempts were made to utilize the action of hydro- 
fluoric acid on glass in order to eliminate the two final 
processes almost entirely. Many difficulties were en- 
countered by the chemists who attempted to control this 
reaction. 

“Finally, however, they were overcome, and one or 
two men can now polish the output of a large factory, 
permitting the laying off of perhaps forty highly paid 
workers, and the selling to the public of fine cut-glass 
ware at much less than it could otherwise be marketed.” 

During the last fifty years the two most important in- 
fluences in the manufacture of glass were, first, the 
substitution of gas for coal, and second, the invention 


[34] 





One Dee G FASS 





Fig. 1. GREEK BOTTLE Fig. 2.. GREEK BOTTLE 
5th Century B.C. s 


(See page 5) 


_ 


OLD GLASS 








Fig. 3. SARACENIC VASE 
(See page 6) 


[16] 


EN SS SSS. 


OLDD-GLUASS 





Fig. 4. PERSIAN GLASS 
18th Century. 


(See page 6) 


(eral 


OTD 2G aioe 


aSVA ASANIHO 


9 “a1 q 





aSVA ASANIHO 


*¢ ‘BI 


(L abn 299) 





[ 18 ] 





(See page 


30) 


OT DERG aAsaS 


ye AUER OSES OH OSSOSee ey Soe cree, 
- ken Se oR eS RR Om a 5s 
acted Nee ann oer ees 


Sc eres 
teas 


ot oe ae 





Fig. 7, VENETIAN COVERED CUP 


grog 








OLD GLASS 


a 





es 
Fig. 8. GOBLET WITH Fig. 9. VENETIAN TAZZA 
WINGED STEM From 15th Century Original in the Moro- 


From an Original of the 

15th Century in Junstz- 

gewerbe Museum, Berlin. 

Venezia Murano Com- 
pany, Venice. 


(See pages 32 and 33) 


sini Gallery, Venice. 


[ 20 ] 





OL DeGlVASs 





Fig. 10. GOBLET WITH WINGED 
STEM 
From an Original of the 15th Century in 
the British Museum. 


(See pages 34 and 36) 


[f2ie] 


Kigali ea VI ROM Dt 
TRINA WINE GLASS 
Vitro-e dre lrinage. Glass 
from Original of the 15th 
Century in the Murano 
Museum. 





OO DG Agss 





Fig. 12. BASIN AND EWER 


Italian, 16th Century. 
(See page 37) — 


[233 7] 


THE ART OF GLASS-MAKING 


of the glass-blowing machine.* This machine was in- 
vented by M. J. Owens, of Toledo, Ohio, and of course, 
revolutionised the making of glass. Modern glass 
moulds are of three kinds, iron, press and paste moulds, 
all of them made of iron. These moulds are made in 
two or more segments fastened together, and no matter 
how well they are made, wear and tear and abuse in 
using them makes the joint of the mould apparent. 
The Germans used moulds of maple or apple wood 
soaked in water. After use the moulds grew charred 
on the inside, and the blower found that the object 
within could be easily revolved, giving it a lustre and 
smoothing off the seams. Iron moulds in use at the 
time if covered on the inside with some of the charred 
mixture from the wooden moulds, allowed the object 
to be revolved as in the wooden moulds. This gradu- 
ally led to a carbon mixture being known as “paste.” 
The writer of “Fifty Years of Glass Making” goes 
on to say that this paste mixture is applied on the inside 
of a mould, and often sprayed with water so it will not 
burn. A paste mould of this description will not allow 
an object with a raised design upon it to be treated in 
this way. A “press” mould is made of two parts, the 
mould and the plunger, the mould being the outer part 
and the plunger working within it. The press operator 
gathers a bit of molten glass on the punty, drops it in 
the mould, shears it away from the punty, and presses 


*“Pifty Years of Glass Making.” 


[ 23 ] 


OLD GLASS 


in the plunger. The press operator must have an ac- 
curate eye to judge of the right amount of metal so it 
will not be too much to fill the mould, and so be wasted, 
or too little which will cause under pressing. 

The styles of decoration are many: 

Cutting. ‘This was among the earliest methods used, 
and is one of the most beautiful. It was accomplished 
by the use of wheels from two to sixteen inches in diam- 
eter, sand, water, powdered pumice, and “putty pow- 
der,” consisting of whitening and other ingredients, for 
polishing. The wheels were of blue stone, mild steel 
or hard wood, boxwood generally for polishing. The 
cutter revolved the wheels by foot power, pressed the 
glass against the wheel on which sand and water 
dripped. The design was rudely scratched on the glass 
and then the cutter followed the details from a sketch 
on paper which lay beside him. 

Diamond-point engraving. This style of decorating 
was employed long before the use of the wheel. Every 
country where glass was made used it, and as late as 
the middle of the nineteenth century it was still em- 
ployed in England. 

Engraving by wheel. This method followed the 
diamond-point style. The effect if done by an artist 
was often extremely rich. One cannot study or handle 
glass without noting the frequent use of the grapevine 
as an ornament. With or without the bunch of grapes 
which so often accompany it, its use was not confined 


[ 24] 





THE ART OF GLASS-MAKING 


by any means to drinking vessels. The grace of the 
stem, the curling tendrils, the pleasing shape of the leaf, 
made it adaptable to objects of any form. I have found 
it on glass vessels of every description except perhaps 
salt-cellars. 

A very agreeable variation of engraved glass is found 
when a portion of the pattern is left clear and polished. 
Besides the vine and the hop and barley sprays found 
on ale glasses, flowers were favorite designs. ‘Tulip, 
rose and lily, honeysuckle and leaf vine, all had their 
place; the tulip in particular, beloved of the Dutch, 
often figured on glass from the Low Countries. 

Fluoric Acid Etching. ‘This art, which originated 
in Germany, had in the eighteenth century many fol- 
lowers in England. Their productions were among the 
most exquisite which it is possible to produce upon 
glass, seeming hardly more than a shadow of a design 
blown upon the glass. 

Flashing. This is superimposing upon clear glass a 
thin layer of coloured glass. This layer of coloured glass 
can be used either upon the inside or outside of the 
clear glass. When cut through for purposes of deco- 
ration the result of flashing on the inside shows clear 
figures on a coloured background, while coloured fig- 
ures on a clear ground are the result of applying the 
coloured glass on the outside. 

Trailing. Canes or rods of glass laid on in a pattern 
while the metal was still hot, makes a somewhat clumsy 


[ 25 ] 





OLD GLASS 


but effective decoration. It was commonly combined 
with etching or engraving. 

In Rosenhain’s ““Glass Making in All Ages,” he says: 
“The blowing of a tumbler is typical of the process of 
blowing any hollow article, and the higher grade the 
object the more depends on the skill of the worker. 
The old way of forming a tumbler was to take the gath- 
ering of glass on the blowpipe, blowing it into the 
proper size, then elongating by gently swinging the 
pipe. Then the bottom was flattened by pressing it 
gently on the marver, which gave the tumbler the 
proper shape. The pontil was affixed to the bottom by 
a small bit of glass, the neck and blowpipe were sep- 
arated from the bulb, leaving the tumbler the proper 
size. The edge of the tumbler was thrust into the fur- 
nace to heat the broken edge, which was now smoothed 
and rounded off. If the worker so desired the edge 
could be widened out or fluted, or otherwise treated by 
rotating it, and pressing the edge with pieces of wood.” 

When you come to consider the collecting of old 
glass, one of the most discouraging things to be faced 
is the number of frauds and fakes. Not only is old 
Irish and English glass being forged, but early Ameri- 
can as well. Often the highest precautions will not 
defend the purchaser. In the presence of the pontil 
mark collectors once used to place their trust, but this 
is no longer an infallible test. Old cut-glass of high 
quality generally did have the pontil mark smoothed 
off, and so did many pieces which were not cut. 


[ 26] 





THE ART OF GLASS-MAKING 





The form of the foot in drinking glasses is a means 
of identifying old pieces. It is generally large, the 
diameter being equal to that of the bowl, and it is con- 
ical or domed. The bottom of old pieces is frequently 
like ground glass, and always has at least a rim of wear 
around its edge. 

There are collectors who claim that they can never 
be deceived in the “ring” of old glass. That is, if the 
rim of the object is struck smartly with a pencil or the 
fingernail it gives out a clear, musical note. I have 
before me a large, dark-blue beaker which rings clear 
and true when struck. Yet it is an unmistakable fake. 
It is thick and heavy, it is a bad shade of blue, and the 
bottom has been industriously scratched with sand- 
paper. Not content with this, there are some extra- 
large scratches made no doubt with a file. On a genu- 
ine piece the wear shows evenly, coming from use and 
moving about. Most of the old glass was less clear 
and brilliant than the modern. It had many imperfec- 
tions in it, tiny bubbles, sometimes little grains of sand, 
which Mrs. Stannus in “Old Irish Glass” says is one 
of the peculiarities of old Irish glass. 

Constant handling of old glass is a most necessary 
part of the training of every would-be collector. Old 
glass lacks the sharpness of new, there is a feeling of 
softness almost as noticeable as in soft paste porcelain, 
and sometimes the fingers will be more of an aid to you 
in detecting the fraud, than the eyes, 


[ 27] 


VENETIAN GLASS 


HE making of glass before it became so me- 
chanical a process as it is now, was one of the 
most beautiful arts in the world. The glass- 

worker could please his fancy in the shape and decora- 
tion of the objects he fashioned, and the greater variety 
of form he introduced, the better it was. 

The story of Venice, the history of her proud nobles 
with their wealth of ducats and their ropes of pearls, is 
like a fairy tale. For centuries those oozy quicksands 
were the nesting-grounds of wild birds, and the sea was 
choked with fishes. Then by and by came men and 
women, driven to such fastnesses as the lagunes pro- 
vided by the raids of the Goths. They fought the sea, 
building up with wooden piles driven deep into the 
shifting sand, and men, women and children toiled to 
give stability to the ooze and silt. 

By degrees the rude mud huts gave way to cottages, 
and these in turn to more substantial dwellings, though 
the fierce daily battle went on to keep the water out 
and retain the shallow strips of soil. The best men in 
each little knot of dwellings were chosen as leaders, and 
little by little the process of selection showed its ad- 
vantages. Invention and the creative faculty seems 
to have been inborn in them, they were Christians too, 


[ 28] 





VENETIAN GLASS 





and in 421 A.D., Rivo-Alto (the Rialto), or Port of 
Padua as it was called, sent consuls to regulate the lives 
and property of the water settlers, and to safeguard 
them from the inroads of barbarians.* 

The first “Grand” Doge of Venice was Agnello 
Badoero, a Greek by descent, who was called to the 
supreme office in 810, and he chose Rivo-Alto as the 
seat of government, and set about developing and im- 
proving the islands of the lagunes.t 

It would seem but natural that a race sprung from 
fisherfolk and toilers should lack, not excel, in all lines 
of art. But touch them where you will, even the 
simplest things were wrought on lines of beauty, and 
their artists, printers, goldsmiths, weavers of rich lace 
and splendid textiles, makers of glass and mosaics, 
seemed to draw inspiration from the colours and forms 
they found in their wonderful gardens or shimmering 
on the surrounding waters. 

Glass-making was early an important Italian indus- 
try. From the fifth century there are records of it, 
the artisans working in a small way at little individual 
furnaces, instead of in the immense establishments of 
more modern times. The earliest recorded individual 
worker was Petrus Flavianus, in the year 1090, as a 
phial maker.t 

In 1268 the glass-workers became an incorporated 


*Staley: “Dogaressas of Venice.” 
+ Charles Yriate: “Venice.” 
+ Monograph on Venice and the Island of Murano. 


[ 29 ] 


OLD GLASS 


body, and took part in processions and pageants. Glass 
for windows and mirrors and vessels of glass for house- 
hold use were all made as early as the fourteenth cen- 
tury, and during the sixteenth and seventeenth centu- 
ries immense quantities were exported. Figure 7 shows 
one of the splendid covered cups of the fifteenth cen- 
tury. It is of plain glass, the bowl, the cover and the 
foot ornamented with raised gadroons and ribs. Around 
the mouth is a band of enamelled dots on a gold ground, 
and beneath that a raised rib, coloured spirally blue 
and white. Around the bottom of the cup is a raised 
moulded band. It belongs to the end of the fifteenth 
century, and is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, 
London. 

The seat of this prosperous industry was the Island 
of Murano, whither the workers had been transferred 
late in the twelfth century. It is a fact that glass-works 
had been established at Treviso, Ravenna, Vicenza, 
Padua, Mantua, and Bologna by the end of the thir- 
teenth century, but they were so overshadowed by Ven- 
ice that little is known of them, or what they made. 

The Island of Murano, separated from Venice by 
an arm of the sea, was not only celebrated on account 
of the glass-works which were gathered together there. 
For years it was the abode of the aristocrats of Venice, 
and here they built their gardens, and many villas 
sprang up on the sandy seashore, whose hanging gar- 

Figure 7, page 19. 


[ 30] 





VENETIAN GLASS 





dens and orchard terraces were claimed to be the most 
beautiful in the world. 

During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries when 
these villas were at their proudest, every visitor ex- 
tolled the beauty of the gardens snatched from the sea. 
Every afternoon and evening fleets of gondolas stole 
through the murky waters, filled with merry people 
who went to Murano to enjoy the cool breezes filled 
with the scent of flowers, or to view the splendid fres- 
coes and wonderful statuary at Villa Mocenigo and 
Villa Trevison.* 

But while the nobles had complete liberty to go and 
come as they pleased, the glass-workers were virtually 
imprisoned there so that the secrets of the manufac- 
ture should not become known. But to reward them 
for this curtailment of liberty they had astonishing 
privileges. They were under the immediate jurisdiction 
of the Council of Ten, and they had the right of coin- 
ing a certain number of medals on the day of the bless- 
ing of the waters by the Doge. If one of their daugh- 
ters married a noble the latter did not forfeit his 
nobility, and the children were noble. A very great con- 
cession in those days.t If, however, one of the workers 
attempted to leave the island, he was punished with 
death. 

The number and variety of guilds at Venice seems 


*Staley: ‘“Dogaressas of Venice.” 
+ Yriate: “Venice.” 


[31] 





OLD GLASS 





to have embraced every known occupation. In the 
splendid pageants which were such a feature of Vene- 
tian life for centuries, it was customary for the dif- 
ferent guilds to appear, generally in rich uniforms and 
bearing show-pieces illustrative of their trade. Each 
branch of the glass-makers’ trade had its own guild, 
and they were divided into mirror makers, crystal glass 
workers, mosaic glass workers, and bead makers. 
These latter were divided into ordinary bead makers 
and bead makers of finer quality.* 

During the reign of Doge Giovanni Soranzo (1312- 
29), and Dogaressa Franchesina his wife, importations 
of mirrors from Germany and hanging lamps from 
Greece were prohibited. Their palace was one of the 
grandest in Venice, filled with costly treasures, with 
table service of gold and silver-gilt and the most beauti- 
ful glass Murano could produce. No doubt tall gob- 
lets similar to the one shown in Figure 8 stood on their 
table, for this one is a copy of one in the Berlin Mu- 
seum, and is in the Pennsylvania Museum, Philadel- 
phia. The original is of the fifteenth century. The 
exquisite lines of these tall goblets, the admirable pro- 
portion, the delicacy of the winged ornament, belonged 
more to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries than later 
when the ornament became too heavy, and in some 
cases almost grotesque. 

During the years 1547-49, discontent raged among 


* Dillon: “Glass.” 
Figure 8, page 20. 


[ 32] 





VENETIAN GLASS 





the glass workers of Murano. Instead of asking for 
less time to work—the modern method—they com- 
plained that so much time was taken by observances of 
church and state, and the restrictions of labour under 
legal enactments, that the working year was reduced 
to thirty-five weeks. Luigi Conaro in his ‘“Discorso 
Intorno Alla Vita Sobria,” has recorded: ‘Cloth of 
gold from India, porcelain and glass from Sévres, 
earthenware from Birmingham, and other manufac- 
tures entered Venice freely to the disadvantage of 
Venetian workmen.” ‘The Gastaldi or Masters of the 
Guild laid their complaints before the Dogaressa 
Alicia, and she was able to obtain permission in 1550 
for a party of Murano glass-workers to travel through 
England, Flanders, Spain and France. King Henry 
VIII of England welcomed them and made a great 
collection of Venetian glass. 

Among the exquisite objects made were tazze—one 
is shown in Figure 9. ‘They are flat, shallow bowls 
mounted on stems and very often flecked or powdered 
with gold. The one shown is at the Pennsylvania Mu- 
seum, and is a copy of one in the Morosini Gallery at 
Venice. It belongs to the fifteenth century. 

Slender, long-necked bottles for water were made in 
quantities at the furnaces of the Miotti and Luna fami- 
lies. Their glass was colourless, not very brilliant, but 
ornamented with ribs and rings of white enamel.* 


*Ryley: “Old Venetian Glass.” 
Figure 9, page 20. 


[ 33] 





OLD GLASS 


The glasses of the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 
turies are very beautiful, and may have funnel-shaped 
bowls, fluted, four-leaved, scalloped, or tulip-shaped. 
The latter is very pleasing, particularly when decorated 
with ribs and threads of glass. Many of these early 
glasses were colourless, but there are some of a royal 
purple that are exceptionally fine. The Venetians had 
a fancy for lavishing decoration on the stems, which 
were often fourteen inches high. They are balustered, 
winged, crested with glass of another colour, twisted 
and ringed in endless variety. Figure 10 is from an 
original glass of the fifteenth century which is in the ~ 
British Museum, London. This replica is at the 
Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia. Everything 
about this glass is interesting. ‘The tall braided stem, 
the winged decoration which is so suggestive of the 
sea-horse, a design which has always seemed to appeal 
to glass-makers, American as well as European. 

The importance of Altare, a small Ligurian town 
north of Savona, has only recently been recognised as 
having an important part in the development of the 
glass industry of the sixteenth century. As far back 
as the eleventh century a glass industry had been estab- 
lished there, and there was a constant influx of skilled 
workmen from Normandy and later from Murano, 
so that by the fifteenth century there were so many 
trained workers that they were ready to go to other 


countries to seek employment. Constantly from this 
Figure 10, page 21. 


[ 34] 





VENETIAN GLASS 





time Altare has played an important part in this art, 
does so to-day, for there are descendants of the old 
families—Mr. Dillon in his book, ‘‘Glass,” says thir- 
teen—who still carry on the craft. 

The term “Venetian Glass” always conjures up in 
the mind those lovely and fragile objects with which 
we are familiar. But the earliest glass was made for 
the mosaic makers to use. Then about the beginning 
of the fourteenth century they made lanterns for gal- 
leys and lighthouses. They made glass in blocks for 
spectacle makers, mosaic glass, window glass, glass for 
mirrors, each branch of the work being under its own 
code of laws which bound both master and workmen.* 

Salvino d’Amato invented eye-glasses towards the 
end of the thirteenth century, and they were subse- 
quently improved by Allessandro Spina.t 

About 1436 the coloured glass of Venice began to be 
celebrated, and continued so for centuries. By the fif- 
teenth and continuing to the sixteenth centuries plain 
glass decorated with gilt and enamel was much es- 
teemed ; while in the seventeenth century the celebrated 
vitro di trina, marbled and variegated glass were all 
being made. Millefiori extends through all periods.t 

The enamelled glass of the sixteenth century was 
very beautiful, and the imitations of jasper, agate and 
chalcedony very successful. The vitro di trina or lace- 

*“The Americana.” 


+ Wallace-Dunlop: “Glass in the Old World.” 
+ Apsley Pellatt: “Curiosities of Glass Making.” 


[35] 


OLD GLASS 


glass consists of fine threads of white or opaque glass 
contained in the body glass. They might be vertical 
or horizontal, and might appear in the form of ribs 
or bands. Figure 11 shows a vase, vitro di trina of the 
fifteenth century, a copy of one in the Murano Mu- 
seum. This one is at the Pennsylvania Museum, and 
is exceedingly beautiful and graceful. 

As the seventeenth century advanced, the style be- 
came florid and gaudy, particularly in such objects as 
chandeliers and wall lights) Many formulas were 
used for the composition and colouring of the old 
glass, the colouring particularly being a very delicate 
matter, since it depended not only upon the just pro- 
portion of the ingredients, but upon the greatest care 
in the application of heat. The choicest specimens 
were sometimes submitted to the heat fifty or sixty 
times.* 

There are a few great names connected with the max- | 
ing of glass in Venice: Ballarin; the leaders of the 
schools of Brussa and Briati, particularly Guiseppe 
Briati himself, who in 1736 obtained a patent to make 
glass in Venice in the Bohemian style. He had learned 
the secret of its manufacture at Prague. He also was 
allowed to set up his furnace in Venice itself, in the 
Via del Angelo Raffaello, in 1739, and destroyed those 
he had at Murano. He died in 1772.T 

Another of the illustrious of Venetian glass-makers 

*Yriate: “Venice.” 


+ Ibid. 
Figure 11, page 21. 


[ 36] 





VENETIAN GLASS 





was Angelo Beroviero, who, with members of his fam- 
ily, made many improvements in glass-making. In 
1463 they invented what they called “crystal glass,” 
and from it they made those wonderful cups and gob- 
lets which were used as marriage or betrothal gifts; 
they also made memorial vases and show-pieces for the 
guild. These latter were sumptuous objects, rich with 
gold and enamel decoration, and in some cases showed 
historical portraits. The ewer and basin in Figure 12 
show the grace which such masters of their craft be- 
stowed upon everything they touched. These pieces 
are in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and 
are of clear glass banded with blue. 

Angelo Beroviero, aided by his friend Paolo Godi da 
Pergola, a chemist, was able to manufacture artificial 
gems as well as artificial pearls.* 

Anyone who has read much of the ancient history of 
Venice as well as other parts of Italy, is staggered at 
the amount of jewels mentioned. ‘Pounds of Great 
Pearls” figure in inventories of estates and in accounts 
of the wealth and marriage portions of great ladies of 
noble rank. A. Sauzay in his “Wonders of Glass Mak- 
ing,” says: “On his return to Venice (1295) Marco 
Polo hastened to inform his fellow citizens who were 
dauntless mariners as well as enterprising merchants, 
not only of the manners, but also of the taste of the 
people of Tartary, India, and China for false pearls 


*Sauzay: “Wonders of Glass Making.” 
Figure 12, page 22. 


[ 37] 


OLD GLASS 


and imitation gems. Nothing more was required to 
exercise the inventive mind of the Venetians. Thus 
while Dominico Miotti endowed Venice with the in- 
vention of blowing false pearls which had been lost for 
centuries, Christopher Briati, on his side, revived an 
art once carried to great perfection, the production of 
coloured glass and aventurine. Such efforts necessarily 
brought their rewards, and it is to the pearls and col- 
oured glass in the imitation of precious stones, that 
Venice owed in great part the wealth she gained from 
both hemispheres.” 

The pearls are made from tubes of glass, the thick- 
ness of the tube being in proportion to its size. After 
the end of the tube is blown into a ball-shape, it has 
to be twice pierced, if for stringing; is further modelled 
into shape, round or pear shape; and then coloured. 
This colouring is introduced into the interior of the 
glass globe after a slight coating of glue has been 
sprayed over the inside, and is a powder made of fish- 
scales. Previous to 1686 the colouring matter was 
made of quicksilver. The work of colouring these 
pearls was done by women, a skillful worker finishing 
about forty thousand a day. 

Although those past-masters of the arts, the Egyp- 
tians, made false pearls fifteen centuries before our era, 
Pliny says that the taste for fine pearls was introduced 
into Rome by Pompeius Magnus about 693 A.D. He 
did not stint himself in the use of these gems, for even 


f 38] 





ODS GU AS. 





Fig. 13. DRINKING VESSELS AND EWER 
Venetian. 


Fig. 15. BOHEMIAN GLASS, DIAMOND ENGRAVED 
(See pages 50 and 52) 


[39] 





OU De a ana 





Fig. 14. VENETIAN VASE Fig. 16. BOHEMIAN 
Venice, 19th Century. GLASS, PAINTED 
Clear Glass, Cylindrical, 
Painted with Two Coats of 
Arms, an Inscription in Gilt 
and the Date 1868. 
(See pages 50 and 53) 


[ 40 ] 





OM DEGAS Ss 





Fig. 17.) COVERED, GOBLET 
Goblet with Cover, Green Glass, Engraved, and with an Inscription. 
A Silver-gilt Openwork Foot, and on the Cover Silver-gilt Figure of a 
Dog Standing, with the Initials I. A. V. and the Date 1656. 


(See page 54) 


[ 41 J 





OLD GLASS 





Fig. 18. DEEP-CUT Fig. 19.° KALLIGRAPHON 
TTUMBLER ORNAMENTE 


Fig. 20. DOPPELWANDGLAS 
(See pages 55 and 57) 


[ 42 ] 





OLD GLASS 





Fig. 21, MILCH GLASS, PAINTED 
Fig. 23. BOHEMIAN DECANTERS 
(See pages 57 and 58) 


[ 43 J 





OLD GLASS 








Fig: 22... COVERED: CUPS 
Bohemian Glass Covered Cups. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 


(See page 58) 


44] 





OLD-GLASS 





Fig. 24. BEHERSCREW, Fig. 25. DUTCH WINDMILL 
SILVER-GILT GLASS 
Dutch Beherscrew, Silver-gilt. 17th | Dutch Mill Beher. Latticinio and 
Century. Property of the City of Silver. 17th Century. 
Amsterdam. 


(See pages 71 and 72) 


[45] 





OLD GLASS 





Fig. 26. DUTCH GLASS, VENETIAN STYLE 
With Diamond Engraving, 17th Century. 


Fig. 27, DIAMOND-ENGRAVED GLASS 
Green Glass, Dutch Diamond Engraving, 1646. 


(See page 73) 


[ 46 | 





VENETIAN GLASS 





his furniture was studded with them. There was a 
likeness of himself wrought entirely in pearls, and he 
had besides chaplets and ornaments. 

Of course such a spendthrift and dandy as Caligula 
could not be outdone in magnificence, so he had his 
shoes decorated with pearls. His horse, Incitatus, had 
his collar studded with them, and they were used in 
countless other ways. These were Oriental pearls, and 
of course only obtainable by the wealthy. Twenty 
years after Marco Polo brought news that false pearls 
were desired in India and China, there were so many 
makers of these gewgaws that they were regulated by 
special statute. 

The mirrors of Venice were for long years objects 
of envy by the rest of the world, and on these and the 
making of beads they had a monopoly. The making 
of mirrors requires not only a good plate of glass free 
from all imperfections, but the applying of a film of 
bright metal, which shall be free from all defects. The 
mirrors of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were 
always small, not alone from the fact that it was not 
then possible to make large sheets of glass, but also 
because in the hands of a Renaissance artist, the frame 
was the important thing. Whether of gold, jewelled, 
or of carved wood, or tortoise-shell inlaid or rich with 
lapis, it was a masterpiece, and the mirror was only 
an excuse for all this enrichment. The little mirrors 
which women wore were small things indeed, worn 


[47] 





OLD GLASS 





generally at the girdle. They were often about four 
inches high by two wide in an embossed frame, or if 
round, were commonly enclosed in a small ivory box 
richly carved. 

When England began to make mirrors the business 
in them was dropped in Venice, so that by 1772 only 
one glass house at Murano made them.* 

In addition to the desire for false pearls and imita- 
tion gems, the feminine rage for beads does not seem 
to have lessened with years. If there were documents 
concerning the manners and customs of Adam and Eve, 
how they kept house and what they wore when they 
walked out of an afternoon, there is no doubt in my 
mind but that reference would be found to chains of 
rowan beads and hips and haws, with which they 
decked themselves. 

Nobody knows how rar back the making of beads 
began in Egypt, for beads of colour—sapphire, emer- 
ald and brown—were well known by the time of the 
XVIIIth Dynasty, that is from 1500-1350 B.c. The 
skill of the Egyptian women in making exquisite adorn- 
ments out of beads can be seen in the Egyptian room 
of any great museum. The small thin chains which 
satisfy us to-day are meagre compared to the splendid 
and artistic breastplates and collars of Egyptian make. 
Even the melancholy bugle bead, so well known as 
the jangling accompaniment to modified mourning, has 


* Yriate: “Venice.” 


[ 48 ] 





VENETIAN GLASS 





been used for centuries and centuries for the same 
purpose. 

Gabrielle d’Estrees, Marquise de Monceaux, mis- 
tress of Henry IV of France, died in 1599. In her in- 
ventory are noted ‘Five small caps of black satin of 
which two are embroidered in jet, one quite full, a robe 
of black satin with a border of jet over the body and 
the sleeves open, valued at forty crowns.” * 

In 1723 Savary wrote in his “Dictionnaire Universel 
du Commerce”: “It is with artificial jet, cut and 
pierced and threaded with silk or thread, that embroid- 
eries are made in sufficiently good taste, but very dear, 
which are used particularly in churches. Trimmings 
are also made of it in half mourning for men and 
women, and sometimes muffs and tippets, and trim- 
mings for robes.” 

The tons of glass beads which are worn by women 
in every part of the world to-day, be the women black, 
white, yellow or red, seems only the outcropping of a 
desire for flashy adornment, which is ingrained in the 
feminine nature. The modern bead may be more regu- 
lar, but often it is far less beautiful than its predecessor 
of centuries ago. 

The Chevron bead is perhaps the most important of 
all Venetian beads, not alone on account of its size, but 
because of its wide distribution. These beads are made 
from canes built up from layers of colored glass, gen- 


* Sauzay. 


[ 49] 





OLD GLASS 


erally, blue, red, and green, divided by thin layers of 
opaque white glass which are so placed that the opaque 
glass forms a star-like pattern on a cross-section. They 
vary in size from one-third of an inch to two and a half 
inches, and the usual type is cylindrical with rounded 
ends. These beads are very beautiful, and have been 
made at Murano so long that the time of their intro- 
duction isunknown. They are made at the present time 
in large quantities for use in the Congo, where they 
are in great demand. 

They have been found in the remotest spots of the 
earth, Upper Egypt and Nubia, Zanzibar and India, 
Central Africa, South Sea Islands, Peru, Canada, and 
even in the graves of the American Indians.* 

Thinking of Murano as one of the greatest artistic 
colonies in the world, it seems unbelievable to know 
that they had to have recourse to making ugly and com- 
mon things. Yet in 1790 Giorgio Barbaria asks for a 
patent for making black bottles for export to England, 
and also enamels and jet. His is the last great name 
in the industry of glass-making at Murano. He was 
deputy of the Island for 1794-96, and this was just be- 
fore the republic fell. Murano once so proud and pros- 
perous came on evil days, and though the art is still 
carried on, it is done so by foreigners, or at least on 
foreign capital.t See figures 13 and 14. 


* Dillon: “Glass.” 
+ Yriate: “Venice.” 
Figures 13 and 14, pages 39-40. 


[50] . 


BOHEMIAN GLASS 


HE glass industry was introduced into Bohemia 
from Venice, in the thirteenth century, and 
soon attained a vast importance. The glass 

factories were in the neighbourhood of the mountains, 
where minerals, especially silica, abounded, and where 
fuel was plentiful. 

The finest product, the crystal glass, is to-day made 
around Haida and Steinschonau, the same places where 
the art originally flourished. When one nowadays 
speaks of Bohemian glass, there flashes instantly into 
the mind a not too agreeable shade of red, with a deco- 
ration of vine leaves and grapes in white. 

But this glass is not the one for which the works in 
Bohemia became famous. ‘That was a glass crystal 
clear, artistic in its shape and very similar to the Vene- 
tian glass from which it was copied. The heyday of 
this beautiful product was the seventeenth century, 
when, under the fostering care of the Emperor Ferdi- 
nand III, the elder and younger Schwanhardt of Nur- 
emberg turned out their masterpieces.* 

The art of cutting was really derived from the art 
of rock-crystal cutting, imported into Italy after the 
conquest of Constantinople, in 1453. From Italy it 


*Ryley: “Old Bohemian Glass.” 


fasts} 





OLD GLASS 


passed into Nuremberg about 1550, and then into 
Prague. The recluse Rudolph II was a great patron 
of the arts, and encouraged the glass industry by invit- 
ing to come to his castle at Prague such celebrated lapi- 
daries as he could hear of. Chief among these were 
Girlamo and Gaspardo Miseroni, who came from 
Milan and were placed in charge of a glass-works, 
which had been founded by Rudolph himself.* 

The decoration of Venetian glass of this period was 
far from artistic. It was either scratched with a dia- 
mond or painted in enamels. The beautiful glass made 
at Prague and Nuremberg still showed the influence 
of Albrecht Durer (he died 1528), for at this time and 
for many years after, these two cities were the head- 
quarters of science and art. The glass itself, much 
improved in quality and clearness by the use of po- 
tassium carbonate instead of sodium carbonate, was 
cut with the same care as rock-crystal. The deep cut- 
ting was done with the apex of the natural crystal, while 
the lighter etching was made with a splinter or frag- 
ment of a diamond. 

Figure 15 shows a group of this diamond-etched 
glass, of the sixteenth century. The elegant shapes 
of the vessels themselves and the grace of the decora- 
tions are far more Italian in character than many other 
pieces of about the same period. In fact the demand 
of the customers was responsible for the character of 


*Ryley: “Old Bohemian Glass.” 
Figure 15, page 39. 


{ 52] 





BOHEMIAN GLASS 





the glass. A great contrast to these pieces is shown in 
Figure 16. This is a tall drinking glass very German 
in shape, size and enamelled decoration. There are 
two coats of arms on it in colour, and an inscription 
with the date 1568. This glass is owned by the Victoria 
and Albert Museum, London. 

Bohemian glass, even of the choicer qualities, was 
not always blown. The heavier pieces which were to 
be subjected to the deep cutting were cast in wooden 
moulds. The wheels dressed with emery and diamond 
dust which are used by lapidaries at the present day 
were used by the early cutters in Bohemia, who soon 
abandoned, except for polishing, the primitive sand- 
stone or wood and metal wheels. A. Beresford Ryley 
in his paper on “Old Bohemian Glass,” in the Con- 
noisseur, says that George Schwanhardt and his son 
Henry, both of Nuremberg, were never excelled or 
even equalled in the beauty and delicacy of their work. 
The elder Schwanhardt was a pupil and assistant of 
Caspar Lehmann, who had learned his art at Prague 
under the two Miseroni. The Thirty Years’ War deso- 
lated Bohemia and Schwanhardt returned to Nurem- 
berg, from which city he had gone to Prague to be 
director of the Imperial furnaces. 

From Nuremberg came many of his marvellous mas- 
terpieces. Princes of the church quarrelled with Roy- 
alty for possession of his glasses, and finally, owing to 


the entreaties of the Emperor Ferdinand III, he re- 
Figure 16, page 40. 


So. 


OLD GLASS 


turned to Prague. Under his direction his models were 
copied in the various glass-works. His return to 
Prague was in the year 1652, and he and his son Henry 
continued to do their marvellous work on goblets, 
tankards, tumblers and beakers. The ‘“‘pokale,” or gob- 
lets, often with tall graceful covers, were especially 
elegant. Sometimes these goblets in addition to being 
facetted and cut were practically covered with en- 
graving, and even then might be further embellished 
with gold rims and stands. Figure 17 shows a splendid 
example of such a covered cup. It is of clear green 
glass, engraved and with an inscription. A silver-gilt 
openwork foot and on the cover a silver-gilt dog, stand- 
ing, further enrich it. It also bears the initials 
I. A.V. and the date 1656. ‘This cup is at the Victoria 
and Albert Museum, London. 

During the last half of the seventeenth century the 
celebrated ruby glass began to make its appearance. 
It was brought to perfection about 1679 by Johann 
Kunckel, a Silesian, at his glass-works on the Isle of 
Peacocks, at Pottsdam. Kunckel, born 1638, was at 
first a chemist, and his researches led him to investigate 
the colouring of glass. He detected the fact that to get 
this wonderful shade of ruby the glass had to be twice 
heated, and that the gold, used as colouring, must be 
present only in minute quantities.* 

A little book called “L’Arte Vetraria,” published by 


*Dillon: “Glass.” 
Figure 17, page 41. 


[ 54] 





BOHEMIAN GLASS 





Antonio Neri in 1612, has had an important influence 
on both makers of glass and on writers on that sub- 
ject. This book passed through four translations, re- 
ceiving valuable additions each time. It was translated 
first from Italian to English, then to Latin, to German 
and finally to French, which latter translation, by 
Baron d’Hollack in Paris, 1752, is the best. 

Much of this deeply cut Bohemian glass, modern as 
well as antique, is very heavy. This is necessary on 
account of the style of decoration, deep-cutting, “‘tief- 
geschnitten,” and an example of this glass is shown in 
Figure 18. Fruit and figures, horns of plenty, with 
inscriptions and quite a medley of objects crowded 
together, gives a showy but less artistic decoration than 
some of the simpler pieces. Usually, the main object, a 
portrait, a picture of a town, which was a favourite sub- 
ject, a bunch of flowers or fruit, or even an elaborate 
geometric design was deeply cut while the lesser parts, 
scrolls, curlicues, swags and tendrils were done in much 
lower relief, often etched. 

During the first half of the eighteenth century, a 
mode of decoration called “kalligraphen ornamente”’ 
was much admired. It was extremely beautiful, light 
and elegant scroll-work and conventional decoration 
which practically covered the whole object. Figure 
19 shows it. It is no wonder that the demand for this 


exquisite product increased and spread all over Europe, 
Figures 18 and 19, page 42. 


[55] 


OLD GLASS 


particularly in those centres where the elegancies of 
life were in demand. 

Maria Theresa, Countess of Flanders, visited Ghent 
in 1744, which city had been hitherto a market for 
Venetian glass. In fact much glass made in Ghent had 
been directly copied from Venetian models. But the 
glasses made to celebrate Maria Theresa’s visit were in 
Bohemian style, rich with engraved armorial bearings.* 

Indeed, about the middle of the eighteenth century, 
the demand for this glass in Bohemian style had a dis- 
astrous effect on Venetian manufactures. ‘Though the 
glass-works at Murano were nearly ruined, the Senate 
forbade them to make any goods in Bohemian style. 
Things grew so bad at last that in 1736 the Senate 
granted permission to Guiseppe Briati to establish in 
Venice a furnace to make glass in Bohemian style. 
Briati himself was a Muranese glass-maker who had 


studied the art of Bohemian glass-making secretly at 


Prague. Some of his models are still to be seen at the 
Murano Museum. ‘These pieces of Briati are most 
interesting. Into the shapes he succeeded in impart- 
ing a lightness not to be found in the solid and imposing 
pieces of Bohemian design. The quality of the glass 
was more brilliant and clearer than that previously 
made at Murano. His cups and beakers were of an 
elegance and beauty that made them treasured by all 
who gained possession of them. At the Doge’s palace 


*Sauzay: “Wonders of Glass Making.” 


[ 56] 





BOHEMIAN GLASS 


they were displayed on the cupboards among the gold 
and silver plate.* 

Later in the eighteenth century, a new style of work 
called ‘“‘Doppelwandglas” was produced in Bohemia. 
Specimens are shown in Figure 20. This Doppel- 
wandglas was a revival of an ancient art practised long 
before. The objects made in it were commonly goblets 
or bowls, very heavy, with round or square bases. They 
were made of two layers of glass, holding between them 
the decoration etched in gold or silver leaf. Sometimes 
the inner layer was of ruby glass, but oftener of clear, 
the two layers fastened together by a colorless cement, 
or by fusion, the inner layer of glass being very fusible, 
so that a low degree of heat would attach it hermetically 
to the outer layer. 

The effect was often very brilliant and beautiful, 
particularly if the design was kept simple. But as the 
Bohemian glass ousted the Venetian, so English flint 
glass with its marvellous power of decomposing light 
owing to the presence of lead, ousted Bohemian. 

Searching for novelties the Bohemian workers not 
only imposed black silhouettes on backgrounds of gold 
or silver, but they also returned to painted glass, the 
background of which was whitish glass. This they called 
“Milchglas,” and some of it is shown in Figure 21. 
Some of these painted designs are most attractive, par- 


*Yriate: “Venice.” 
Figures 20 and 21, pages 42 and 43. 


[57] 


OLD GLASS 


_ticularly on the early pieces, but late in the century the 
taste became rococo, and nothing was too gaudy. 

Early in 1800 in an effort to revive the industry 
quantities of ruby glass were made. Some is shown in 
Figure 22. There were smaller lots made of blue, 
amber, and very rarely green. These were often in 
two layers, milk-white over a colour, in which the 
opaque glass was cut through to show the colour 
beneath. Sometimes thumb-spots was the pattern 
chosen, sometimes the colour layer was cut through to 
show clear glass. Such pieces are by no means rare 
in this country, particularly in the coarser qualities. 
Some are shown in Figure 23. 

The map of Europe has been so juggled with that 
one hardly dares to state the domain of Bohemia. There 
are, however, six principal glass-making centres in 
Bohemia or adjacent to it. Of these Haida ranks first, 
and was in the business as early as the thirteenth cen- 
tury. 

The method of glass-making in Bohemia up to 1870 
and indeed for ten years later (see roth Census of the 
United States) was most primitive. All the furnaces 
throughout Austria-Hungary were small affairs placed 
in the midst of forests, and when the wood near at hand 
was exhausted it was found cheaper to move the fur- 
naces than to bring wood. The way the manufacture 
was conducted was almost as primitive as the works. 


The work was divided into two distinct branches, one 
Figures 22 and 23, pages 43 and 44. 


[58] 





BOHEMIAN GLASS 





where the rough unfinished glass was made, and the 
other the refining or finishing, which included engrav- 
ing or decorating of the crude article. 

This method caused the training of a band of skilled 
workmen, excellent engravers and decorators. They 
were further encouraged by a government museum, 
and schools were maintained in connection with the 
glass industry where art training could be obtained. In 
1880 there were in Bohemia alone 169 furnaces making 
glass, most of them making crystal, table, hollow ware, 
coloured glasses, bottles and other fine ware. They 
also made glass pipes for beads, glass sticks, cut glass 
and coloured raw glass. Only twelve of these furnaces 
used coal. The quantity of Bohemian glass sent to this 
country was perfectly immense. The tables showing 
the imports of glass into the United States between the 
years 1876-80, under the head of “Bohemian, cut, en- 
graved, painted, coloured, printed, stained, silvered or 
gilded, plain, mold and pressed,’ was valued at 
$2,972,089.76. No wonder there is plenty of it to be 
found, and that it makes its frequent appearance at 
auctions. 

Glatz has a great reputation at the present time as 
a glass-making centre and these Bohemian glass-works 
send their products all over the world, Africa as well 
as America demanding them. They are making now 
some exceptionally beautiful coloured glass of the 
highest quality, in the old shapes, “‘tief-geschnitten,” 


[ 59] 





OLD GLASS 





and consequently very expensive. Pieces in a gorgeous 
amber or in the fine clear red, tall covered cups and 
vases also with covers can be found and are most 
decorative. Many of them bear a label which reads, 
“Made in Czecho-Slovakia.” 

In studying up the early history of Bohemian glass, 
it was soon apparent that like so many other industries 
and arts, its beginnings were very foggy. But in the 
Congressional Library in Washington, that Mecca of 
all students who try to delve into antique history, I 
found in one of the card catalogues a book entitled 
“Bohemian Glass.” It seemed as if my almost hope- 
less searches were about to be rewarded. So vast is 
the library and so distant some of the stack-rooms, that 
you are requested by frequent signs not to ask, under 
half an hour, if your book has come. Just sit down 
and wait patiently, and if your book is in an attendant 
will bring it to you. I waited the half-hour and some 
over, though to me patience has always seemed a poor 
kind of virtue. The librarian who finally answered, 
said “Bohemian Glass” was an “art book,” and was to 
be found on the third floor at the end of the print room. 
An art book, how promising that sounded! ‘To get to 
the print room was a walk equivalent to several city 
blocks in length and on arrival at the desk one of the 
very polite and helpful women who attend to the wants 
of readers, said she did not know the book but would 
have it looked for. So there was more waiting, quite 


[ 60 ] 





BOHEMIAN GLASS 





watchful waiting this time, and she presently arrived 
at my side with a very doubtful look and a very small 
book. She remarked that she feared the book would 
hardly serve my purpose, and put it in my hand. 

“Bohemian Glass” was a book of poems published in 
Oxford, England. It was declared to be one of “‘Works 
of Authors Unknown to Fame,” which on looking 
through the volume was quite understandable. How- 
ever, I copied the following lines, as forming one of 
the shortest and most lucid gems! 


“Of a Certain Green-eyed Monster.” 


“Charles gave Elizabeth a Dodo, 
Charles never offered one to me— 
The loveliest lemon-coloured Dodo 
With the greenest eyes that you could wish to see. 


Now it isn’t that I’m doubting if Charles loves me, 
And I know he would ask me out to tea, 

But he did give Elizabeth a Dodo, 

And he never even offered one to me.” 


[ 6r] 


DUTCH AND FLEMISH GLASS 


HE political history of what is now known as 

The Netherlands, and Belgium, seems to have 

been linked with nearly every country in 
Europe. They have been included in the Holy Roman 
Empire, they have been ruled by French kings. The 
Dukes of Burgundy fostered their arts and the country 
prospered, but when The Netherlands passed with 
King Philip II to the Spanish line of the House of 
Hapsburg, its domain was considerably reduced. 

In 1795 Flanders, like other provinces of Belgium, 
was incorporated with the French Republic, but the 
Congress of Vienna united Belgium and Holland to 
form the Kingdom of The Netherlands. Not till 
1830-32 did Belgium liberate itself from Holland. The 
glass-workers travelled from one city and country to 
another, and it is difficult to classify glass which has 
so strong a family resemblance, as being distinctively 
Flemish or Dutch, particularly when both Venice and 
Germany exerted so strong an influence on this art in 
both Belgium and Holland. It was but natural that 
the workmen from the dominating countries should 
impress their technique on the native workers, so in 
this Dutch glass we see the styles of other countries 
reflected. 


[ 62] 








OD 2G EAS. 





Fig. 28. DUTCH GLASS, GOLD DECORATION 
Dutch Green Glass Decorated with Gold, 1606. Emblem 
of Prince Maurice of Orange. 


Fig. 29. ROEMERS 
Dutch Green Glass. Left and Centre 16th Century. Right 17th Century. 


(See page 74) [ 63 | 





OD GAs 





Fig. 30. DIAMOND-EN- Fig. 31. ENGRAVED BOTTLE 
GRAVED ROEMER Green Dutch Bottle. Diamond En- 
Green Glass, Dutch Diamond graving, 1684. 


Engraving, 17th Century. 
(See pages 74 and 75) 


[ 64 | 





OT, DiaG DAS 





Fig. 32. TALL DRINKING Fig. 33. DRINKING GLASS 

GLASS Dutch Glass with Diamond En- 
Dutch Glass, Facon de Venise, graving. Second Half of 17th 
with Portrait of Prince Freder- Century. 


ick Hendrik of Orange (1625- ~ 
47). Diamond Engraving. 


(See page 76) 


[65 ] 


OW DeGilaA os 


NOILLVYOOAd AIOD ‘SSVID GCAAVYONA 


"E-ve “Sl 





(LL abvd 2a9) 


*‘spurlIZqION 24} JO 
SdOUIAOIG 24} pue uledg ‘asuviIQ jo SulaAvisuq 
puowriq ur AIpjesayy YM OS9T FO JaWII0Y UDd2I1D 
NOILVaYOOrd 
A109 ‘SSVID GHAVYONA “VW-e “OTT 





[ 66 ] 





es UA IO 





yo 


Or ch aioe! 
AER OHI LS. 


were anaes ® 


& xy 





Wig, 35) COVERED BIRTH CUP Fig. 36. GERMAN GLASS 
Colourless English Crystal Glass. BEAKER 
Dutch Cutting, 18th Century. Enamelled Glass Dated 1687. 


(See pages 77 and 79) 


Liat 





OLDUG: LASS 





Fig. 37. COVEREDSGGE 
(See page 80) 


[ 68 ] 





OF De<G L-ASSs 


40 pe 
86 2ensapnar =?" 





Fig. 38. “WILLKOMMEN” GLASSES 
Fig. 39. HUNTING GLASSES 
(See pages 81 and 82) 


[ 69 | 





OED GLAS. 


$2-S3g- 





Fig. 40. GERMAN GLASSES 
(See page 83) 


[ 70 } 





DUTCH AND FLEMISH GLASS 





The earliest record of Flemish glass is an item in 
the inventory of Charles V of France, dated 1380: “A 
goblet of white Flemish glass mounted in silver.” In 
1421 a certain Annieul was a glass-maker at Namur. 
By 1503 there existed in Flanders a manufactory of 
glass mirrors, and in that year the Venetian Council 
authorized Andrea and Domenico Gallo to make mir- 
rors in Flanders with the Flemish firm.* 

The inventory of Marguerite of Austria made in 
1523 mentions “a large green drinking glass with cover 
and foot of silver gilt.” No doubt Marguerite of 
Austria’s glass was similar to the one shown in Figure 
24. They were sometimes called “beherscrew” and 
this glass is also green and has a mounting of silver- 
gilt. It belongs to the City of Amsterdam, and is on 
exhibition at the Rijks Museum, Amsterdam. ‘The 
story of the travels of the Venetian glass-makers all 
over Europe where they either established glass-works 
or worked in those already established makes an im- 
portant item in the story of glass-making in the Low 
Countries. 

The great Flemish family of De Colnet were asso- 
ciated with the Ferros from Venice and worked at 
making glass in the Venetian manner. Antwerp, Brus- 
sels and Liége became the great headquarters after the 
sixteenth century, and made glass successfully for over 


two hundred years.t 
*The Expert, 1908. 


+ Hartshorne: “English Glasses.” 
Figure 24, page 45. 


[71] 


OLD GLASS 


The important privileges accorded to the Venetian 
glass-workers in Flanders only applied to those who 
worked in glass made in Venetian style, which was 
also allowed to be imported. Figure 25 shows a beauti- 
ful “mill beker” latticinio glass and silver, made during 
the seventeenth century, and belonging to the Rijks 
Museum. Such pieces as this and the one previously 
shown were chiefly used as ornaments on the richly 
carved and inlaid cupboards of the period, and of 
which every well-to-do Dutch family boasted one or 
two. 

Soon after 1713 Brussels ceased to make glass in 
Venetian style. A series of letters by M. Schuermans, 
entitled, ‘“Muranese and Altarist Glass Workers,” 
throws much light on the Italian workers in The 
Netherlands. Besides the Venetian glass which was 
legally imported and that which was made by duly 
licensed Italian glass-workers in Antwerp and other 
cities, there was much glass in Venetian style illegally 
made over the French border, or in Germany, at the 
beginning of the seventeenth century. 

A glass factory was founded in Brussels in 1626 by 
Antonio Miotti who made “glasses, vases, and cups of 
fine crystal glass and of all colours.” By 1658 the names 
of the foreign glass-makers almost wholly disappear 
and those of a long line of distinguished Flemish mas- 
ter glass-blowers appear. Among them were H. and 

Figure 25, page 45. 


[ 72] 


a 


DPUTCH AND FLEMISH GLASS 


a ieeeetalaiaeael 





L. Bonhomme, T. Lambotte, Barbe de Thiers and A. 
Duquesne.* 

The Bonhommes were progressive business men, and 
by the end of the seventeenth century had contrived to 
get control of the glassware trade in Belgium and even 
as far as Verdun. Of this period there are occasionally 
to be found some very charming Flemish glasses of a 
thin glass, without stems, and in a variety of colours, 
dark amber, red, pale green, pale blue and russet 
brown. Both Liége and Brussels claim their invention. 

The next step was to mount the bowl on a stem with 
one or more bulbs, and with a domed and folded foot. 
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the 
Dutch carried the art of scratching or engraving on 
glass with a diamond point to a high point of perfec- 
tion. Figure 26 shows two very ornamental glasses of 
the seventeenth century with diamond-point engrav- 
ing. The taller one is the property of the Koninblijk 
Oudheidkundig Genootschap, and both are displayed 
at the Rijks Museum. 

Ladies considered this diamond-scratched work an 
elegant accomplishment, and several became noted for 
the excellence of their work. The daughters of Roemer 
Vischer were very skillful and justly celebrated, and 
a dark green roemer engraved by Anna Roemer, 1646, 
is the central piece in Figure 27. The taller glass 
decorated with the heraldic device of Schoonhoven, 


* The Expert. 
Figures 26 and 27, page 46. 


( 73] 





OLD GLASS 


1663, is the property of the Koninblijk Oudheidkundig 
Genootschap, and all are at the Rijks Museum. These 
roemers, beloved of the Dutch glass-makers, were made 
in great variety. They bear a close resemblance to 
German glasses of the same period. The color is green, 
the shape somewhat clumsy, and the decoration, glass 
threads drawn over the surface, or nuppen or prunts 
applied to the stems. These prunts were in different 
designs. Some of them were sharp and pointed when 
the glass was dropped hot upon the stem, as in Figure 
28. Rather uncomfortable to hold, one would think. 
This roemer, decorated with gold with the emblem of 
Prince Maurice of Orange, is green glass and is dated 
1606. It is at the Rijks Museum. 

Sometimes the prunts are very decorative, softly 
rounded, like the tallest one in Figure 29, which is 
painted with allegories of Peace and Liberty, in brown- 
black enamel. The other two are early types, belong- 
ing to the sixteenth century. The glass in these roemers 
varied from a pale greenish tint to one so dark as to be 
almost black. The prunts might be lighter, darker or 
the same shade. 

The typical roemer consists of three parts, the cup 
or bowl, the hollow stem with prunts, and a foot, also 
hollow, made of a thread of glass coiled round and 
round. A very graceful one of the seventeenth cen- 
tury, with beautiful diamond-point etching, ascribed 


to Maria Fesselschade is shown in Figure 30. Not only 
Figures 28, 29 and 30, pages 63 and 64. 


{ 74] 





DUTCH AND FLEMISH GLASS 


to drinking glasses was this free and flowing style of 
diamond-point engraving applied. A fine dark green 
bottle is shown in Figure 31, dated 1684, and engraved 
by Willem van Heemskirk. The green glass of some 
of these pieces is a wonderful shade, and shows off the 
engraving to great advantage. 

The glasses made in the Prince Bishopric of Liége 
after 1725 are very interesting to collectors, and an im- 
mense number of them were made. In The Expert, 
an English magazine, for the year 1908, a classification 
of these glasses is given and follows here: 

“One. The oldest are very graceful in shape, en- 
graved on the rims are arabesques. They have stems 
with delicate bulbs half way up, with tears in them. 

“Two. These have long slender bowls set on short 
stems, with moulded tops and bases. 

“Three. Wedding glasses, fine in shape and colour 
and always sapphire blue. 

“Four. Small pieces, with furrowed or fluted bowls, 
the stem being drawn out of the bowl, with plain folded 
feet. 

“Five. Drinking glasses with short wide bowls, the 
stems with a series of bulbs, and foot always folded. 

“Six. Openwork glass baskets with trailed and 
pinched bases. 

“Seven. Holy-water stoups decorated with blue and 
white twisted rods. 


“Eight. Burgundy glasses, covered with small round 
Figure 31, page 64. 


[75] 





OLD GLASS 





spots in relief, with moulded stems and domed and 
folded feet. 

“Nine. Small cups in the form of cavalry boots, 
sometimes edged and spurred with blue. 

“Ten. Long-necked spa water bottles, shaped like 
flattened gourds, with painted wooden stands.” 

Figure 32 shows a very elegant tall drinking glass in 
Venetian style, with portrait style of decoration in 
diamond-point etching which was so popular a feature. 
This portrait is of Prince Frederick Hendrik of 
Orange (1625-47), and the glass is at the Rijks Mu- 
seum. The exquisite delicacy of the diamond-point 
work shows to great advantage in this specimen, the 
portrait being exceptionally clear, as are the bird and 
vine which almost cover the rest of the surface. 

The men who did this class of work were artists, not 
mere mechanical workmen. Gerard Dou, Rem- 
brandt’s celebrated pupil, was the son of a glass-worker, 
and served an apprenticeship to a man named Dolendo, 
an etcher on glass, before he began to paint. 

The process of stippling or using minute dots to form 
a pattern was another Dutch method of decoration. 
The result is a very delicate and beautiful pattern 
hardly more than a mere hoar frost upon the glass. 
This method is said to have been invented by Frans 
Greenwood, born at Rotterdam, 1680, and whose last 
work was dated 1743.* Figure 33 shows a fine example 


* Dillon: “Glass.” 
Figures 32 and 33, page 65. 


[ 76 ] 





Re a 


DUTCH AND FLEMISH GLASS 





of this work, and belongs to the second half of the 
seventeenth century. It is at the Rijks Museum. 

Another artist famed in this style of work was Aart 
Schouman, and also a man named Wolf, of whom little 
is known except that he married in 1787 and died in 
1808. 

Two interesting prunted drinking glasses, elaborately 
engraved, are shown in Figure 34. The one with the 
thorny foot belongs to Koninblijk Oudheidkundig 
Genootschap, Amsterdam, and is engraved with the 
heraldic devices of Orange, Spain and the Provinces 
of The Netherlands. It is dated 1650. The other, 
marked “Utrecht,” with elaborate heraldic devices on 
it in gold, belongs to the Pennsylvania Museum, and is 
of probably the same period. 

From the middle of the seventeenth century Antwerp 
made very beautiful glasses with covers. During the 
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, engraved glass in 
Bohemian style was made in Flanders, but was less 
choice than the contemporary engraved glass found in 
Holland. 

Much glass made in England in the early eighteenth 
century was sent to Flanders to be engraved. An ex- 
ample is shown in Figure 35, a birth cup, English glass, 
engraved in Bohemian style in Flanders. At the present 
time much Flanders glass is sent to this country for 
engraving, and sold here. A curious change from the 


old method. 
Figures 34 and 35, pages 66 and 67. 


C772] 


GERMAN GLASS 


HE earliest records of glass-making in Germany 
come from the neighbourhood of Cologne dur- 
ing the Roman period. Although there are 

specimens of this early glass in the Cologne Museum 
and a native industry developed after the fall of the 
Roman power, full recorded details do not begin much 
before the sixteenth century. It is known that a guild 
of glass-makers existed at Nuremberg as early as 1373. 
Among other objects, small convex mirrors were made 
in large quantities in southern Germany and continued 
to be made till comparatively recent times. They were 
known as “‘bull’s eyes.” Small globes of glass were 
blown and while they were still hot they were passed 
through a mixture of tin, antimony and tar. When the 
globe was entirely coated with the metallic compound 
and sufficiently cooled, it was cut into convex lenses, 
which reflected small but clear images. 

The map of Europe has changed so constantly dur- 
ing the last few hundred years that the boundaries of 
countries are no longer the same. For example, the 
Germans claim that the potash-lime glass which lent 
itself so readily to cut and engraved decoration, and 
was so clear and colourless, was their invention, al- 
though it is always known as Bohemian glass. 


[ 78 ] 





GERMAN GLASS 





But it is a fact that most of the early glass, the six- 
teenth century product, and perhaps even earlier, had 
a close resemblance, no matter whether it was made in 
Germany, Holland or the Low Countries. The colour 
of the glass was green as a rule, and the decoration was 
glass studs or prunts, sometimes varied with threads 
of glass applied in various ways. 

Glass furnaces were established in Vienna in 1428. 
In 1531 the town council of Nuremberg offered a sub- 
sidy to attract workmen from Murano. But although 
the German glass-workers were instructed by men 
from Venice, the Italian influence hardly prevailed 
over the coarser German taste.* 

The vessels made were chiefly drinking glasses of 
one form or another, and the early form of decoration 
was enamelling in high colours. These capacious tall 
drinking glasses, decorated with portraits of German 
emperors, the imperial eagle, arms of the states, battle 
scenes and other vainglorious devices, became im- 
mensely popular. The glass shown in Figure 36 is a 
beaker with the arms of Duke Johann Georg III of 
Saxony, dated 1687 and inscribed “Hoff Kellerey Dres- 
den.” It is at the Victoria and Albert Museum. 

The earliest known of these enamelled glasses is 
dated 1553, and the demand for them lasted till well 
into the eighteenth century.t 

The glasses known as ‘“‘roemers” were perhaps the 

* Dillon: “Glass.” 


+t Wylde: “German Enamelled Glasses.” 
Figure 36, page 67. 


[79] 





OLD GLASS 





most popular shape of all. The “igel” was a squat 
tumbler covered with prunts. The “passglas,” another 
popular drinking glass, something like the modern 
loving cup, was marked with horizontal lines or rings 
at regular intervals, to show the amount of liquor to 
be taken at a draught. It can hardly be imagined that 
one of these portentous drinkers took less than his al- 
lotted amount. 

At first the roemer was but a tumbler with a foot 
formed by a ring of glass wound around its base. But 
gradually it acquired a waist covered with prunts, and 
later a foot and in some instances a cover, so that finally 
it became a rather dignified looking object, like the 
one seen in Figure 37. This very beautiful specimen 
is at the Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia. 

The oldest method of painting glass in Germany was 
_ by use of oil paints combined with engraving. Oil of 
lavender was the medium used, and then the whole 
decoration was lacquered over. Of course this method 
proved most unsatisfactory, for the decoration chipped 
off very easily and left only spots of colour. 

The enamelled glasses known as Fichtelberger 
glasses were produced at the glass-works in the Fichtel 
mountains, northeast of Bavaria. C. H. Wylde in an 
article in The Connoisseur on ‘“‘“German Glass Drink- 
ing Vessels Painted in Enamel Colours,” says that 


probably the Bischofsgrun Kiln in this range of moun- 
Figure 37, page 68. 


[ 80] 





GERMAN GLASS 





tains was the first in Germany to produce enamelled 
glasses. | 

The cylinder shape of glass which was the most com- 
mon and popular form of glass used in the sixteenth 
and seventeenth centuries, lent itself readily to decora- 
tion. The huge glass known as “Willkommen” would 
seem large enough to floor the heartiest drinker. These 
were originally used by a host to welcome his newly | 
arrived guest, a welcome cup. Sometimes they had a 
pointed base and could not be set down till emptied. 
Mr. Wylde declares that the term ‘“'Wiederkom” by 
which these glasses are known in England is a mis- 
nomer, Willkommen being the proper term. Three 
fine examples of these glasses are shown in Figure 38; 
they are all in the Victoria and Albert Museum. 

The centre glass with cover is the type known as 
“Reichshumpen” or “Adlerglas,” so called from the 
decoration of the double-headed eagle of the Holy 
Roman Empire with the armorial shields of fifty-six 
various kingdoms, states, and towns of the dominion. 
Above is the inscription, ‘‘Das Helig Romish Reich mit 
Sampt Seinen Gliedern.” On the reverse side is the 
date. An example of one of these Adlerglaser which 
is at the British Museum has a crucifix painted on the 
breast of the eagle. 

The smaller of the other two glasses shows the por- 
trait of a miner and his wife, with armorial device 


showing a pick and hammer and a miner’s lamp. This 
Figure 38, page 60. 


[ 81 J 





OLD GLASS 


glass is dated 1671. One may be pardoned for wonder- 
ing if it was the property of a coal miner. The third 
glass is more understandable. It was made for a coop- 
ers’ guild. These guilds were rich and powerful 
organizations, and at their halls had rich silver cups 
as well as glass. On this glass is painted twelve scenes 
of the craft, showing the various stages in the construc- 
tion of a barrel, from cutting the timber in the forest 
to the completed cask in the cellar, from which the 
cooper is quenching his thirst. 

There are found, occasionally, glasses painted in 
brown monochrome. These are called “Schaperglaser”’ 
from the name of the artist, Johann Schaper. He was 
the most distinguished of all painters of glass vessels. 
He was born at Harburg near Hamburg, and lived at 
Nuremberg from 1640 to 1670, when he died. 

The two glasses in Figure 39 are called hunting 
glasses. They date from the eighteenth century. The 
walls of the glasses are double, and between them are 
placed gold and silver foil over which the decoration 
is painted. Hunting scenes were used and the outer 
glass wall was cut in facets, so that the glass was less 
liable to slip through the fingers. The bases are of 
ruby glass, and just above is a pattern painted in gold. 
They were very handsome and decorative glasses. 

It is a sidelight on the manners and customs of the 
times to see that drinking glasses of all descriptions 


were arranged for the convenience of the heavy drinker. 
Figure 39, page 69. 


[ 82] 





GERMAN GLASS 


Tumblers had wide bases and roughened sides, goblets 
had prunts or knops, decanters were many ringed so 
that they were made as safe as possible for the uncer- 
tain fingers of the drinker. 

Figure 40 shows a group of interesting glasses be- 
longing to the eighteenth and early nineteenth cen- 
turies. They show how closely the German and Bo- 
hemian glasses resembled each other. There are the 
graceful pokale or covered cups, decorated with cutting 
and engraving. The one on the top row with step cut- 
ting on its knopped stem is unusually fine in its pro- 
portions. The bottle with handle and pewter lid on 
the same row is also interesting, the smallness of the 
objects in the picture failing to show the excellence of 
the engraving. 

The double cruet belongs to the early nineteenth cen- 
tury, and is an agreeable object to look upon, but must 
have been very difficult to manipulate successfully when 
filled with vinegar and oil. These pieces are all owned 
by the Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia. 

A peculiarly beautiful glass, etched in the manner 
which was so esteemed in Germany, is shown in Figure 
41. Itisacovered cup engraved and etched with danc- 
ing amorini holding grape-vines loaded with grapes. 
The knob of the cover is metal enamelled with colour, 
and on the interior button is enamelled the arms of an 


archbishop of Treves, with the inscription, “Joan, 
Figures 4o and 41, pages 70 and 87. 


[ 83] 





OLD GLASS 


Hugo. D. G. Arc, Trev. PR. EL. EP) SPP ites 
the early eighteenth century, and belongs to the Vic- 
toria and Albert Museum, London. The height in- 
cluding cover is six and three-quarters inches. This, 
too, is cut and facetted for safe holding. 


[ $4] 


SPANISH GLASS 


T is only recently that the collector has turned his 
attention to the interesting and often beautiful glass 
which has been made in Spain. The very deco- 

rative pottery and the rarer porcelain has been ferretted 
out in every province, but the collector still has a hunt- 
ing chance when it comes to glass. | 

Of course the earliest glass, for there were glass- 
works in Spain as early as the thirteenth century, was 
frankly an imitation of the famous Venetian glass. No 
doubt many specimens called Venetian were made at 
the prosperous factories at Barcelona and Cadalso, 
where very beautiful pieces were manufactured. The 
lamp shown in Figure 42 is in Venetian style of the 
seventeenth century. It is pale amber, the stem sup- 
porting a cup for oil, and having two spouts. It be- 
longs to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 
which is peculiarly rich in collections of Spanish glass, 
from which all the illustrations of Spanish glass used 
here are taken. 

An interesting decoration on glass which has been 
attributed to Venice has now been proved by records 
to have been made in the Spanish peninsula. It is 
enamelling, the prevailing shade being a beautiful 


apple-green, which sometimes fades into yellow. A 
Figure 42, page 88. 


[85] 





OLD GLASS 


cup of clear glass is shown in Figure 43 with enamel 
decoration. The leaping deer which was such a fav- 
ourite theme with glass-makers of all countries is shown 
here chased by hounds. The centre ornament is a fly- 
ing bird. This piece is of the sixteenth century. 

In the early records of Spanish glass-making, par- 
ticular mention is made of two kinds of glass, vidrio, 
and vidrio cristalino. The latter was a pure white glass 
more like rock-crystal, and the former was just common 
glass. 

Sefior Juan F. Riano, who is an authority on Spar- 
ish objects of art, says in a pamphlet on the subject 
written for the Victoria and Albert Museum, that Al 
Makari, an Arabian author quoting from another Ara- 
bian author, this latter of the thirteenth century, states 
that “Almeria was also famous for the fabrication of 
all sorts of vases and utensils, whether of iron, copper 
or glass.” : 

Yet it appears that glass must have been made in 
Spain even earlier than that, for in the Victoria and 
Albert Museum there is a large collection of gold- 
smiths’ work, and in it is a portion of a necklace made 
of different coloured glass beads, with five beads of 
gilt metal. This fragment was found in an earthen pot 
in Murcia, and belongs to the latter half of the eleventh 
century. Many jewels of silver or silver-gilt set with 
glass stones and dating from the sixteenth century are 

Figure 43, page 59. 


[ 86] 





OF DiGi Asis 





Fig. 41. COVERED CUP, ETCHED AND ENGRAVED 
German. Early 18th Century. 


(See page 83) 


Lisval 


A 


GOLD GLASS 





Fig. 42. SPANISH LAMP 
Pale Amber Glass in the Form of a Candlestick, Supporting a Reservoir 
with Two Spouts and Serrated Ornament. Spanish, Cartagena 
17th Century, 
(See page 85) 


[ 88 ] 





OLD GLASS 





Fig. 43. TAZZA, ENAMELLED 
Clear Glass Painted in Enamel Colours, Spanish, 16th Century. 


(See page 86) 


[ 89 ] 





OLDAG EAS» 





Fig. 44. JUG, MOTTLED GLASS 
Blue and White Mottled Glass. Spanish. Cadalso. 17th Century. 


(See page 96) 


[ 90 ] 


r 


Or DRG LeAnor 


‘ystueds 


*AINJUID 


{Sl ‘Plo ur slapiog pajytisiag pu 
AVUL GNV IMOd CayTAOO 


eB sjenbnog YIM sse[y 
ps Veet 


(96 24D0¢ 3a5') 
ured 





[or ] 





OLD GLASS 





Fig. 46. GLASS BOWL, ENGRAVED 
Plain Glass, Oval Bowl with Lip, Engraved with a Chateau and 
Trees, Winged Handle Ending in a Shell. Spanish. 18th Century. 
San Ildefonso. 
(See page 97) 


[ 92] 








OLD*..GUASS 





Fig. 47. COVERED CUP, WITH CUTTING 
Standing Glass with Cover. Plain Glass Richly Cut. Spanish, San 
Ildefonso. 18th Century. 


(See page 97) 


[ 93 | 





OSD Dei LASS 





Fig. 48. GOBLET, CUT AND ENGRAVED 
Plain. Glass, Cut and Engraved. . Spanish. - San Ildefonso. 
18th. Century. 
(See page 97) 


[94] 


SPANISH GLASS 


also to be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum 
collections. 

Barcelona, one of the towns which belonged to the 
Christians in Spain, was early a notable centre for the 
excellence and beauty of its glass. In 1324 a special 
municipal edict forbade the erection of ovens for glass- 
making within the city on account of the danger from 
fire, to the rest of the population. 

Queen Isabel, beloved of every good American, in 
1475 granted to the monks of the convent of San Ge- 
ronimo de Guisando the privilege of erecting a glass 
furnace at Venta de los Toros de Guisando, with tax ~ 
exemption from all sales. In 1503 Ferdinand of Ara- 
gon sent to Queen Isabel 274 pieces of Barcelona glass.* 

In 1455 permission was granted to the glass-makers 
to form a corporation under the patronage of Saint 
Bernardino. ‘This corporation was similar in purpose 
to the guilds of other countries. Few of the rules and 
regulations governing it are known, but in 1779 in an 
account of the industries of Barcelona, Capmany writes 
that a master glass-maker had to serve an apprentice- 
ship of six years. 

During the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth 
centuries, choice glass was made at Barcelona and in 
sufficient quantities so that it could be exported. Gero- 
nimo Paulo writes in 1491 about the remarkable things 
made at Barcelona. He says, ‘““They also send to Rome 


* Schuerman’s Letters. 


[95] 





OLD GLASS 





and other places many glass vessels of different sorts 
and kinds, which may well compete with those of 
Venice.” ; 

In 1780, Mataro, Cervallo, and Almatret, three 
towns of Catalufia, were all making glass. At Cadalso 
in the province of Toledo enough glass was made at 
the beginning of the sixteenth century, according to 
a contemporary writer, “‘to furnish the whole king- 
dom.” But the industry failed, and by 1750 glass was 
no longer made there. Figure 44 shows an interesting 
jug made at Cadalso in the seventeenth century. It is 
mottled blue and white with blue rims, and is most 
attractive. Some glass was made at Toledo, for there 
are records of what was furnished, principally lamps, 
to the cathedral. 

A price list was issued in 1680 settling the prices at 
which glass made at Barcelona, Valdemaqueda and 
Villafranca should be sold at Madrid. The glass-works 
at La Granja de San Ildefonso were opened in 17265, 
and they produced very beautiful pieces, chiefly white 
glass decorated with engraving, cutting and gilding. 
Permanent gilding fixed with heat is said to be the 
invention of a Spaniard, Don Sigismondo Brun, and 
an example of this work is shown in Figure 45, a bowl 
with cover and tray. Itis plain glass and all the decora- 
tion is in gold; it dates from the eighteenth century. 

The glass of southern Spain shows the influence of 


the East. This is seen particularly in the products of 
. Figures 44 and 45, pages 90 and 91. 


[96] 





SPANISH GLASS 





the provinces of Granada, Andalusia, Murcia and Al- 
meria. Italian glass was taken as a model at Cata- 
lonia, Mataro, Almatret and Cervallo. Also in the 
interior the Italian workmen, greatest travellers ever, 
notwithstanding the drastic rules forbidding them to 
leave Italy, set the style for the native workers to fol- 
low. Cadalso, Recuenco, Cebreros, Valdemaqueda and 
San Martin de Valdeiglesias all followed Venetian 
models.* 

La Granja de San Ildefonso made glass in Bohemian 
style. They made jars, vases, bottles and other hollow 
ware, profusely decorated with spines, ridges, button 
work and threads. Some of this glass is shown in 
Figures 46 and 47. In the first example the glass is 
clear and the decoration engraving, trees and land- 
scape. The winged handle decorated with spines ends 
in a shell which is attached to the bowl. Figure 47 
shows that the glass made at San Ildefonso could com- 
pare favourably with the glass made at other European 
centres. The shape of the covered jug is most pleas- 
ing, and the cutting attractive. Both these pieces are 
of the eighteenth century. 

In Figure 48 is shown an important piece of en- 
graved and cut glass. This goblet, with its heavily 
knopped stem and engraving and cutting of a higher 
order, is made from the clear glass which the Spanish 


* Dillon: “Glass.” 
Figures 46, 47 and 48, pages 92, 93 and 94. 


[97] 





OLD GLASS 


called vidrio cristalino, and it was no wonder that 
other nations were glad to claim it as their own. 

Almeria was the most important town for the making 
of Spanish glass of Moorish type. They made bottles 
and flasks of odd and often graceful shapes till quite 
recently. 

A glass vessel such as that shown in Figure 49 is used 
for drinking wine, which seems as characteristic of 
Spain as the straw-covered wine bottles seem of Italy. 
The Spanish bottle is made of plain glass with latti- 
cinio threads about the neck, which has a trefoil mouth. 
This particular bottle was made in the eighteenth 
century, and they were and are still made by many 
Spanish glass-works. I have had them offered me for 
sale in different shops in this country which deal in 
Spanish goods. The modern bottles are of a greenish 
cast, the glass itself very grainy, and only rarely do 
they show the latticinio threads about the neck. They 
are not so easy to drink out of as it might seem, and it 
has ever been a problem in my mind whether the spout 
or the lip were the more convenient place from which 


to sip the contents. 
Figure 49, page 111. 


[98] 


FRENCH GLASS 


WING to their many improvements in the mak- 
() ing of glass, and to the fact that they were so 
early in the field as notable workers in glass, 
it is impossible to omit reference to the work of the 
French, even though so few pieces are likely to come 
into the hands of the collector. From the sixth cen- 
tury they had dishes of glass for table use, as they are 
mentioned in a letter from Fortunatus, bishop of 
Poitiers, to Queen Radegonde, wife of Clotaire I.* 
In 1338 a document was drawn up by Humbert, 
Dauphin of Viennois, setting down the privileges to 
be granted to a glass-maker named Guionet, who was 
to work on the land of the Dauphin. It also sets down 
what Guionet was to pay for this privilege. This list 
is given by M. Sauzay in his book, ‘Wonders of Glass 
Making.” 

“The Dauphin resigns to Guionet a part of the forest 
of Chambarant, in order that he may establish a glass 
manufactory there on condition that the latter supply 
annually for his house one hundred dozen glasses in 
the form of bells, twelve dozen small glasses with wide 
tops, twenty dozen goblets or cups with feet, twelve 
amphorae, thirty-six dozen chamber utensils, twelve 


“Wonders of Glass Making.” 


[99] 


OLD GLASS 


large porringers, six dishes, six dishes without edges, 
twelve pots, twelve ewers, five small vessels called 
gottefles, one dozen salt cellars, twenty dozen lamps, 
six dozen chandeliers, one dozen large cups, one dozen 
small barrels, and lastly six large casks for carrying 
wine.” This made a total of two thousand four hun- 
dred and thirty-five objects, annually. Quite a price 
to pay for his “privileges.” 

As early as 677 A.D. many Greek workmen were called 
to France, and Normandy was the first country to grant 
special privileges to glass-workers. In the tenth and 
eleventh centuries several noble families received 
special privileges as glass-makers and these were con- 
firmed by successive sovereigns till the eighteenth cen- 
tury. The Crusaders brought home many improve- 
ments in methods of glass-making. Charles V gave 
all glass-makers exemption from taxes. 

That romantic figure, King Réne of Anjou, when 
he lost the throne of Naples retired to Provence where 
he busied himself with glass-making (1409-80). Dau- 
phiné, Languedoc, Lyonnaise, Poitou, Nivernais, were 
all early in the field in establishing glass-houses. From 
the fourteenth century till the present day Nivernais 
has made glass, though the later product was princi- 
pally bottles. Paris herself, Loraine and Picardy all 
made glass before the seventeenth century. French 
glass of a period as late as the sixteenth century is 
rarely seen even in Museums. There are two or three 


[ 100 ] 


RAP Cateye 





FRENCH GLASS 





specimens in the British Museum, tall large glasses 
with painted or enamelled decoration of figures and 
mottoes on them. These large glasses were known as 
flutes, the word flutes still being a familiar French 
expression for hard drinking. The Hotel Cluny also 
has a few pieces, but although there were quantities 
of glass made all over France, there is no gathering 
anywhere that can properly be called a collection. 

Figure 50 shows a bottle with the enamelled decora- 
tion already mentioned, consisting of a coat of arms 
and the inscription “Damoiselle Marie Francoise 
Therese Pobertine Malatov de la Mairie, 1726.” The 
glass is clear, of the quality made in all countries at 
that period, and the screw top is of pewter. This illus- 
tration, as well as the others used to illustrate French 
glass, was taken from glass at the Metropclitan Mu- 
seum of Art, New York. 

Another piece of probably the same period is the 
beaker shown in Figure 51. ‘This is of clear glass 
decorated with enamel and gold, bearing the inscrip- 
tion, which does not show in the illustration, but which 
fills the space between the two upper rows of dots, 
“Gentil Div Te Parvoye.” One of the most interesting 
things about this beaker is the high domed foot with 
folded rim. The rim is folded over on top in English 
fashion rather than in Venetian style, in which case 
the rim would have been folded over and under. 


In 1665 a mirror factory was opened in the Faubourg 
Figures 50 and 51, page I1z. 


[ 101] 





OLD GLASS 


St. Antoine, Paris, where specially imported workmen 
from Venice taught French workmen how to make 
mirrors. In order to make the homemade product 
fashionable, in 1672 Louis XIV had them set in his 
coach and in a gallery at Versailles which has always 
been known as the “Gallerie des Glaces.” In this his- 
toric gallery have been enacted many of the great mo- 
ments of France, some of them as recent as the late 
war. 

It was Richard Lucas de Nehou who founded this 
factory in 1665, and he called it ‘““Manufactoire Royale 
des Glaces.”. The elder de Nehou died in 1675, and it 
seems as if when he had learned what the Venetians 
had to teach, he let them go and set about making im- 
provements on their methods. His son Louis in 1688 
invented the method of casting glass plates which al- 
lows the manufacture of glasses of almost unlimited 
size. The glass-houses were moved from Paris to St. 
Gobain in 1693 where they have been in operation 
ever since. 

The early method of plating looking-glasses was tedi- 
ous and difficult, but in 1855 a new method was in- 
vented by a Frenchman, M. Petitjean, and now most 
modern mirrors are made by depositing on the glass a 
coating of silver. 

Many privileges were granted to the first de Nehou. 
He was allowed to “take as co-partners even nobles and 
ecclesiastics without it being derogatory to their no- 


{ 102 ] 





FRENCH GLASS 





bility.” * In fact the gentlemen glass-makers were re- 
lieved of all imposts, which were considerable at the 
time. These gentlemen glass-workers had begun to 
make glass in the Middle Ages. There are quantities 
of glass fragments to be found in many parts of Poitiers, 
and the names of such towns as Vieille, Verriéres, 
Voirie, Verrines, come from their glass-works. Fully 
thousands of parts of vases and other fragments have 
been found at Terre-Noire, Bordeaux. 

A very graceful and beautiful vase of clear glass is 
shown in Figure 52. It perhaps leans to the Venetian 
style in its manner of decoration, for it has a thread of 
blue glass about its lip and neck and also a blue rim. 
The interlaced crescents and the double D are in blue 
also, and are the insignia of Diane de Poitiers, who 
was notable for the works of art with which she sur- 
rounded herself. Any one who has seen that charm- 
ing chateau of Chenonceau which she arranged to suit 
her fancy and built across the river Cher, would not 
doubt for a moment that such a delightful object as this 
vase would have fitted admirably with her belongings, 
and in her favourite colour, blue. The period of this 
vase is possibly as early as the sixteenth century. 

The Imperial factory of Frontincennes, at Forét-Eu, 
cradle of all Norman glass-works, is supposed to have 
been founded in the second century and is claimed by 
the French to be the oldest in the world. The glass- 


*“Wonders of Glass Making.” 
Figure 52, page 12. 


{ 103 ] 


OLD GLASS 


house of Vonéche, near Givet, was founded about 1800 
by M. d’Artigues. By the treaty of 1815, it became 
outside French territory and was transferred to the Low 
Countries. But d’Artigues obtained the right of send- 
ing his glass duty free for three years into France, on 
the condition of founding crystal glass works in France 
during the interval. This he did by buying the glass- 
house of St. Anne at Baccarat, where up to that time 
only common glass had been produced, and establishing 
crystal glass works which have become the most im- 
portant of their kind in France.* 

Not only crystal glass of a wonderful clearness and 
beauty was and is made at Baccarat, but they made what 
they called ‘coloured crystals” as well. These coloured 
glasses were sent to foreign countries to compete with 
Bohemian glass wares, which, M. Sauzay claims, “are 
less finished in detail than ours; the defective objects 
are put up for sale with the others; the mouths of 
bottles and other like objects are made with a careless- 
ness which would not be tolerated in France.” 

Owing to her large business in wines and liquors 
France has made great quantities of bottles. The first 
glass bottle factory in France is said to have been es- 
tablished at Quicangrogne in 1290.T 

The Robinet pump was the invention of a French 
man, and greatly facilitates the manufacture of bottles. 


* Hartshorne: “Old English Glasses.” 
+ Sauzay: “Wonders of Glass Making.” 


[ 104 ] 





FRENCH GLASS 





Besides the strictly utilitarian bottles there were many 
very beautiful bottles, decanters and jugs made at 
Clichy-la-Garenne. These rivalled in shape and ele- 
gance the best of the Venetian glasses from which they 
were modelled, and some were very beautifully cut and 
engraved. A bottle showing the Venetian influence is 
shown in Figure 53. This bottle is of clear glass with 
crimped straps applied to the sides, and medallions of 
fleurs-de-lis applied to the front and reverse. The neck 
has quite an elaborate collar and the body has a hole 
through the centre. Sometimes they were called “‘pil- 
grim bottles,” and are found much less ornamental than 
this one but still with the hole in the centre. They 
were also made of coloured glass, generally of shades 
of transparent blue or green. 

Figure 54 shows another style of bottle, of the 
splashed decoration which was made not only on the 
Continent, but in England as well. The example 
shown has handles and crimped straps of clear glass, 
and is interesting as showing how general was this 
splashing and striping among glass-workers. The wine 
glass shown in Figure 55 has a French coin of silver, 
bearing the date 1727, blown in the knop in its stem. 
The rings above and below the knop and the folded foot 
all point to the work of that period. It is not always 
possible to date the specimens by the date of the coin, 
but in this case they coincide. There is a chain-like dec- 


oration on the bow] of the glass, and raised work in dia- 
Figures 53, 54 and 55, pages 112 and 11}. 


[ 105 ] 


OLD GLASS 


mond shape below it. The method of superimposing 
a layer of glass on the original body to form a decora- 
tion is shown in the graceful jug of clear glass given 
in Figure 56. On the foot are placed three medallions 
showing fleurs-de-lis, the nearest the French with their 
graceful fancies could come to the use of prunts so pop- 
ular with the Germans and Dutch, and as a general rule 
so Clumsy. This decoration from French hands makes 
them almost as effective as a coat-of-arms. 

The Bohemian style of ornamentation was often 
heavy and consisted of castles, men and women, sheep 
and other animals. The French on the other hand 
used only floral designs remarkable for their elegance 
and beauty. The idea was generally prevalent that 
Bohemia alone held the secret for the manufacture of 
glass of those wonderful shades of red, blue, green and 
yellow which have so long been called by itsname. But 
in 1837 a meeting was called in France, encouraged by 
M. Dumas and the “Société d’Encouragement,” at 
which a prize was offered for the most beautiful col- 
oured glass. Glass-makers of all nations competed and 
the prizes were won by two Frenchmen, M.M. Fon- 
tenay and Bontemps. 

Another field in which France excelled, although it 
is of comparatively recent date, is the making of ar- 
tificial gems and pearls. 

More interesting to the collector are the very beauti- 


ful paper-weights, called millefiori, which were origi- 
Figure 56, page 11}. 


[ 106 ] 





FRENCH GLASS 


nated in Venice, later made in Bohemia, but perfected 
in France. There are many collections of these inter- 
esting objects in this country, and it is difficult to de- 
cide the nationality of each specimen. But as a rule 
the finest ones, made of a myriad of delicately coloured 
florets, are French. ‘The glass which surrounds the 
florets is clearer and less bubbly than the Venetian and 
the patterns are smaller than the Bohemian. England, 
particularly Bristol, also made these weights in many 
styles and America took a hand and manufactured these 
pretty trifles. These will be spoken of in their proper 
places. 


[ 107 } 


ENGLISH GLASS 


O the collector of old glass, only the examples 
of table glass or pieces for domestic use appeal 
particularly. But to the inhabitants of those 

countries which were struggling after the Middle Ages 
to improve the character of their dwellings, and in- 
crease their comforts, window glass, even thick and 
poor in colour, was of vast importance. 

In 675 A.D. the Abbot of Wearmouth, Benedict Bis- 
cop, sent to France for artisans to make glass. But 
it was not till 1350 A.D. that enough flat colourless 
glass was supplied by a glass-maker of Chiddingfold 
to glaze the windows in St. George’s chapel, Windsor, 
and the chapel of St. Stephen, Westminster.* 

Looking-glasses and drinking glasses were next in 
importance, many of these being imported from Venice. 
George Gascoigne wrote in 1572 the first regular verse 
satire, and he called it “Steel Glass.” In it he bewailed 
the folly of the age which could no longer be content 
with a good glass of steel nor yet one of common glass. 
But now, he says, every wight must have 


“The christal glass which glimseth brave and bright, 
And shews the thing much better far than it.” 


By 1615 all previous patents for making glass with 
wood had been revoked, and a new patent issued for 


* Dillon: “Glass.” 


[ 108 ] 





ENGLISH GLASS 





using coal. From this time on the covered crucible 
was used to protect the metal from the gas and smoke 
of burning coal. And, by the way, the trust is not so 
recent a business factor as one might think. In 1617 
Sir R. Mansel, vice-admiral and treasurer of the Navy, 
acquired the sole rights for making glass in England, 
and he held on to it for thirty years. 

Quantities of these small mirrors were made in every 
glass-making country, and were universally worn. In 
the play the “City Madam,” by Massinger, written 
about 1624, these mirrors are referred to. 


“Enter Lady Frugal, Anne, Mary and Millicent in several postures 
with looking-glasses at their girdles.” 


In “‘Cynthia’s Revels,” one of the characters says: 


“Where is your page? Call for your casting bottle, and place your 
mirror in your hat, as I told you.” 


Thevenot writes in 1663, “The Mogul women are 
so fond of seeing themselves that they wear a bit of 
looking-glass an inch in diameter, set instead of a 
precious stone, in one of their rings.” 

After the Mansel patent expired, the Duke of Buck- 
ingham became a glass-maker. He was not able to 
secure a monopoly of glass-making in England, but he 
succeeded in 1663 in having the importation of many 
kinds of glass prohibited. At his glass-works, accord- 
ing to Evelyn’s Diary, in 1677 were made “vases of 
mettal as cleare, ponderous and thick as chrystal; also 


[ 109] 





OLD GLASS 


looking-glasses far larger and better than any which 
came from Venice.” 

By 1696, Houghton in “Letters for the Improvement 
of Trade and Husbandry,” records that eighty-eight 
glass-houses were working in England. The eighteenth 
century saw great development in all branches of the 
glass industry, and in the beauty and character of the 
glass for domestic use. This was the most important 
period in the glass industry, for the making of flint 
glass was perfected, and the art of glass cutting reached 
its greatest beauty. 

It might almost be said that the social history of 
England was written in her drinking glasses. The 
precious metals, leather, pottery, porcelain, pewter, 
glass, have all been called on for the tipster’s delight, 
and undoubtedly the goldsmith and the glass-blower 
created the objects of greatest beauty. The reason for 
this is easily seen. The importance of the inn, particu- 
larly to those who dared to travel on roads frequented 
by highwaymen; the public house, the resort of the 
country yokel; the coffee houses, taverns and clubs 
where the men about town disported themselves, were 
far more important than they are now. All these 
places depended upon the liquid refreshment they were 
able to offer for their prosperity. It is no wonder, 
then, that the manufacturer of drinking vessels, for a 
period of nearly three centuries, found it absolutely 


{r130] 





OAD TG EAs 





Fig. 49. SPANISH DRINKING VESSEL 
Bottle. Plain Glass with Long Neck and Trefoil Mouth, Surrounded 
by Latticinio Lines, with Long Spout. Used for Drinking Wine. 
18th Century. Spanish. 
(See page 98) 


Trim] 





OLD sGLASS 


oats 


RE eee ee Aa eMn ey, 
a  * os 


wa} TNE METROPOLITAN MESEUM 
Mic ess OF ABT 1O23 





Fig. 50. FRENCH BOTTLE, Fig. 51. BEAKER, ENAMELLED 
ENAMELLED 


Fig. 52. FRENCH VASE Fig. 53. 


BOTTLE, CLEAR GLASS 
(See pages 101, 103 and 105) 


[ 1123] 





OP DIG TA StS 


Led 


ital 





Fig. 54. BARREL-SHAPED FLASK 


Fig. 55. WINE GLASS WITH Fig. 56. FRENCH JUG, CLEAR 
COIN IN STEM GLASS 


(See pages 105 and 106) 


rise 


OLD, GRASS 


SaSsvIO 


HSYTIONG 


“LS 


i i Rae 





[114 ] 


OLD. GLASS 


SNWALS GaddONY HLIM SASSVTO 


ANIM 


"8g “SI 


(L271 24nd aag¢) 





L115 | 


OED a.Gr lL Asor 





FOUR GROUPS OF STEMS 


Pigs 59, 


(See page 128) 


[ 116 | 


Oe sae ate a a en 
OLD GLASS 





[117 ] 


SET OF ENGLISH CUT GLASS 


Fig. 60. 


(See page 148) 





OAD ASS 





{ 318 ] 


SET OF LUSTRES 


Fig. 61. 


(See page 149) 


ENGLISH GLASS 








necessary to make jugs, mugs, bottles and drinking 
glasses in enormous quantities. 

Turn where you will in English literature, and the 
only difference in the convivial habits of the highest or 
the lowest seems to have been the quality of what they 
consumed. In “Hudibras,” by Samuel Butler, pub- 
lished 1663-78, he writes about Fleet Street, London. 

“That tipling street, 

Distinguished by the name of Fleet, 
Where tavern signs hang thicker far 
Than trophies down at Westminster; 
And every bacchanalian landlord 
Displays his ensign or his standard, 
Bidding defiance to each brother, 

As if at wars with one another; 
Their only quarrel being who 

Can with most art and interest brew; 
That is, in short, about who is’t 


That can the most deceive his guest, 
Draw the worst wine and thrive the best.” 


What were known as “tavern glasses’ were of 
course stout glasses which could stand hard wear, and 
the quality of the glass, though perhaps not its size, 
advanced as its users progressed in the social scale. 
Nor were the uses of the glasses solely for drinking. 
Withers writing about 1650 says: 

“From sudden brawls do sudden stabs arise, 


And sometimes in revenge the quart pot flies, 
Joyn’d stools and glasses make a rustling rumour.” 


During the eighteenth century the number of clubs 
in London seems almost unbelievable, and apparently 


f 119] 


OLD GLASS 


no one was too poor or too criminal to be deprived of 
the benefit of belonging to a club where he could meet 
with others of his kind. ‘The Secret History of Clubs,” 
written by an eccentric named Ned Ward, who died 
in 1731, gives a list of great length. He names and 
gives the meeting-places of such clubs as the “No- 
Nose” which met at the Dog Tavern in Drury Lane; 
“The Surly Club,” “The Club of Ugly Faces,” con- 
sisting of those to whom Nature had been unkind. 
There was the club of ‘Broken Shopkeepers,” “Mock 
Heroes’ Club,” “Lady’s Lap-dog Club,” ‘Beggars’ 
Club,” “Quack’s Club,” the ‘Thieves’ Club,” a “So- 
ciety of Desperadoes who met daily at the Sign of the 
Half Moon in Old Bailey,” and the “Small Coalman’s 
Music Club,” held in a tavern in Clerkenwell. 

In addition there were such famous clubs as the 
‘Brothers’ Club,” to which none were admitted “but 
men of wit or men of interest.” This club had rules 
drawn up by Dean Swift in 1711. The most famous 
club of the century was without doubt the “Kitcat 
Club,” although just who founded it is not known. 
Peg Woffington, known for her beauty and her wit, 
was long its president. Some of its eminent members 
were such literary lights as Addison and Congreve, and 
such dashing blades as the Dukes of Somerset, Rich- 
mond, Grafton, Devonshire and Marlborough; the 
Earls of Dorset and Manchester, and Sir Robert Wal- 
pole, father of Horace the great china collector. 


{ r20 ] 





=, 


ENGLISH GLASS 





They had a bewildering array of beverages to choose 
from. Withers’ Satires, written about 1650, decries 
the increase of luxury, 


“Their drinks are good and stale, 
Of perry, cider, mead, methlegin, ale, 
Of beer they have abundantly, but then 
This must not serve the richer sort of men, 
They with all sorts of foreign wines are sped, 
Their cellars are oft fraught with white and red, 
Be it French, Italian, Spanish, if they crave it, 
Nay, Grecian or Canarian, they may have it. 
Cate, Pument, Vervage, if they do desire, 
Or Romney, Bastard, Caprike, Osey, Tire, 
Muscadell, Malmsey, Clary, what they will 
Both head and belly each may have their fill.” 

To fittingly enjoy this array and to gratify their fe- 
male friends, toasting glasses, each inscribed with some 
appropriate lines of verse addressed to certain toasts 
or reigning beauties of that era, were used by mem- 
bers of the Kitcat club at their weekly meetings. The 
four lovely daughters of the Duke of Marlborough 
were so honoured. So were the Duchess of Bonton, 
Lady Carlisle and a long list of others. Much break- 
age occurred when the toasts were drunk and Madame 
de Sevigne’s Letters relate that after drinking the 
King’s health it was the custom to break the glass. 
This was in 1675, and persisted long after. 

By the middle of the eighteenth century there were 
dozens of clubs like the famous “Je ne sais quoi club,” 
which numbered among its members the Prince of 


Wales and the Dukes of York and Clarence. The no- 


f x21] 


OLD GLASS 


bility and gentry were not alone in their rage for clubs. 
“There was scarcely a public house,” says Sydney in 
his ‘““England in the Eighteenth Century,” “in any re- 
spectable neighbourhood of the capital which had not 
its friends’ club, its lottery club, its smoking club, its 
charity club or choir club in the parlour, where the 
neighbouring shopkeepers regularly spent their eve- 
nings, and where they frequently got drunk, and al- 
ways drank to some excess.” 

An exhaustive study of English drinking glasses 
has been made by Albert Hartshorne. He calls his 
monumental work, “Old English Glasses.” This 
branch of the subject was and is of peculiar interest 
to the English collector, since there were excellent op- 
portunities for making more or less complete collec- 
tions of these objects. Many of the drinking glasses 
had political interest as well, and considerable of Eng- 
land’s history was written in a word or line, or even 
in a rose or thistle engraved on the bowl of a wine glass. 
The cost of these relics was not excessive, and the years 
from 1690 to 1810 was the period of their greatest in- 
terest and worth. 

The Stuart family with its rises and falls, its romantic 
history and the remarkable personality of its members, 
has had much glass inscribed to it by its loyal follow- 
ers. The Jacobites who drank secretly from a glass 
inscribed with a white rose, to “the king over the 
water,” long cherished their cause. Some of the glasses 


f 122] 





ENGLISH GLASS 





in addition to an emblem bore verses of Jacobite songs. 
There were portraits of ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie,” and 
of the “Old Pretender,” and insignia and mottoes. But 
these glasses, rare enough in England, are practically 
unknown here, save for a few which have found their 
way into Museums. 

Four of these glasses are shown in Figure 57; they be- 
long to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The 
pair of wine glasses at the ends engraved with a rose 
and two rosebuds are emblematic of the Old and Young 
Pretenders, James IJ and Charles Edward. At the 
back of the glass is engraved the oak leaf and the word 
“Fiat,” the meaning of which has never been authori- 
tatively settled. The tallest glass is another rose ‘“‘Pre- 
tenders” glass without the word “Fiat.” ‘The fourth 
glass has engraved on it a portrait of Charles Edward, 
encircled with a laurel wreath. On the other side are 
roses, a thistle and a star. 

Portraits of military and naval heroes were some- 
times engraved on choice pieces of English glass. Nel- 
son and his victories were often eulogised. ‘“Welling- 
ton Forever” and Admiral Keppel were both hon- 
oured. One inscription recorded by Percy Bate in his 
book on “English Glass” touches us more nearly. It 
is “De Negoti. Anno 1772.” Mr. Bate suggests that 
this refers to the judgment delivered that year in the 
case of the slave Somerset, who was liberated by the 


courts after being arrested as a slave, on the ground 
Figure 57, page 114. 


{ 123 ] 





OLD GLASS 





that as soon as he stepped on British soil he became a 
free man. Mr. Bate assigns these glasses to Bristol, a 
great Quaker centre, and a “port connected by ties of 
trade with the slave holding provinces of America.” 
It is not unlikely that some member of the Society of 
Friends had this rummer so engraved to indicate a 
forward step in the anti-slavery crusade. 

Nor was the cheerful toper forgotten, for glasses of 
a somewhat later date bear such enlivening mottoes as, 
‘Wine does wonders every day,” or “Jove decreed the 
grape should bleed for me,” or “Keep it up.” 

Three glasses have come down from the stately days 
of ‘““Good Queen Bess.”’ One of them belonged to that 
canny queen herself. She owned, to be sure, many of 
the choicest rarities in her kingdom, for if her loving 
subjects were a trifle slow in giving such treasures to 
her, she did not hesitate to suggest that the article would 
make a good New Year’s gift. Queen Elizabeth’s glass, 
which is still preserved in its leather case among the 
royal collections at Windsor Castle, was made by Jacob 
Verzellini, a Venetian who worked in Crutched Friars, 
London, for twenty-one years under a patent dated De- 
cemberirg. 1070. 

It was probably Verzellini who first used soda-ash 
made from seaweed and seaside plants, instead of the 


crude potash made from fern and wood ashes. Ver- 


zellini died in 1606, but some years previous to this 
the works were taken over by Jerome Bowes. These 


[ 124 ] 


a eed 





ENGLISH GLASS 





same works continued in operation till 1641. In 1874 
excavations in Broad Street on the site of the old works 
revealed many fragments of glass) Among them were 
a square scent bottle, part of a wine glass, and the stem 
of a wine glass showing a spiral thread of white 
enamel.* 

In the British Museum are two other glass objects 
made by Verzellini, one a silver-mounted tankard and 
the other a very beautiful goblet covered with wonder- 
fully florid decoration made with a diamond point, and 
dated 1586. Percy Bate in his book, “English Glass,” 
tells of a fourth example which came to a London auc- 
tion-room and was accidentally broken. 

The use of glass vessels for domestic purposes was 
very limited till late in the sixteenth century. Work- 
men came from Venice, and there also were brought 
over from Normandy and Lorraine many talented and 
industrious families who had left France on account of 
religious disturbances. Among them were the famous 
glass-working families of Hennezel, de Thietry, du 
Thisac and du Houx, from Lorraine, and de Bongar 
and de Cacquery from Normandy. In 1567 Thomas 
and Balthazar de Hennezel settled in Wisborough 
Green in Sussex, and after some centuries the name 
was corrupted into Henzy. Du Thisac became Tyzack, 
de Thietry became Tittery and de Cacquery, Cockery, 


* Dillon: “Glass.” 


[ 125 ] 





OLD GLASS 


and thus were inscribed in parish registers and other 
town documents. 

Other Lorraine gentlemen glass-makers with their 
wives and families settled in the copses and spinneys 
of Petworth, Kirkford, Alfold and other Surrey and 
Sussex hamlets, where raw material, wood, sand and 
bracken lay close and handy by, and where they could 
conceal the mystery of their craft, and from which 
seclusion they could refuse to mix with the yeomen 
and common folk who dwelt near by.* 

During the sixteenth century small glass furnaces 
were established in Kent as well as parts of Sussex and 
Surrey. The workers were nomads ever driven further 
afield in the search of fuel for their furnaces. Their 
progress may be traced by broken-down furnaces and 
cullet heaps, through many English counties and finally 
into Scotland and Ireland. 

Glass-cutting works were operated at Bristol, Bir- 
mingham, Belfast, Cork, Dublin, London, Glasgow, 
Newcastle, Stourbridge, Whittington, and Waterford. 
The most important centres were London, Waterford, 
Bristol and Birmingham. Later there were glass-cut- 
ting works at York, Leith and Portobello. About 
eighty years ago there were glass-works at Hull. 

Mr. Hartshorne in his book on “Old English 
Glasses” divides drinking glasses, roughly speaking, 
into two great groups: tavern glass, coarse; and do- 


*Littel’s Living Age: “Gentlemen Glassmakers.” 


[ 126 ] 


Jeu Se 


hw 





ENGLISH GLASS 


mestic glass, fine. These two groups are again sub- 
divided according to the shapes of the bowls. Mr. 
Bate, on the other hand, bases his classification on the 
stems, beginning with baluster which was the first to 
make its appearance. In Figure 58 is shown a group 
of baluster stems covering a period of two centuries, the 
seventeenth and eighteenth. There are drawn, blown, 
moulded and one cut stem; the domed folded foot, and 
a variety of knops and balusters which were used. 
These glasses belong to the Victoria and Albert Mu- 
seum, London. 

After the baluster came successively, drawn, air twist, 
white twist and cut stems. All these styles of stems 
overlapped, just as in old furniture there was no ab- 
solutely definite time for an abrupt change in style. 
One faded into another. It is true that as early as 
1760 cut stems appeared on glasses, but plain stems 
also persisted and so did twisted stems. 

In addition to the stems as a means of dating speci- 
mens, the way the foot was made also gave indication 
of the period of manufacture. The earliest foot had the 
edge turned back or folded over on itself all around— 
you can see this in Figure 58—the width of the fold 
varying from one-quarter to one-half inch. The Vene- 
tian method of folding the foot was the reverse of the 
English, for they folded it downward and underneath. 

The pontil mark left rough is another indication of 


age. In fact the rough pontil mark existed on glasses 
Figure 58, page 115. 


[ 127] 





OLD GLASS 





till the stage of cut stems, then the roughness was 
smoothed off, leaving a circular depressed mark on the 
bottom of the vessel. 

The classification of wine glasses according to the 
shape of the bowl, made by Mr. Hartshorne and en- 
larged by Mr. Bate, is given below, but American 
collectors need to have a coloured stem, or some peculi- 
arity of cut or ornamentation, to induce them to add 
wine glasses to their collections. The shapes of the 
bowls are classed as: drawn, bell, waisted bell, straight 
sided, straight sided rectangular, ovoid, ogee, lipped 
ogee, double ogee and waisted. 

The classification of stems seems so much easier for 
the collector who may wish to add a few examples of 
English drinking glasses to his collection, that I give 
it here. Excluding the baluster stems which have al- 
ready been given, there are: first, drawn; second, air 
twist; third, cotton twist; fourth, cut. Examples of 
these four groups are given in Figure 59. 

The air twist or tear, as it is called, is the pear-shaped 
air bubble which is found within the stem. These 
tears may be long and attenuated, fat and squatty, with 
the point turning up or down, according to the fancy of 
the maker. 

If the glass has what is known as the drawn stem, 
the method of manufacture was to draw the metal for 
the stem out from the bowl. When the stem was deco- 


rated with an air twist, the stems were sometimes made 
Figure 59, page 116, 


[ 128 ] 





ENGLISH GLASS 





of glass rods which could be easily cut up into small 
pieces and to which the bowl of the glass and the foot 
were welded. 

These small bubbles of air called tears became under 
the manipulation of a skillful workman a decoration 
of great beauty. The air twist stems were in vogue 
- for a long time, till 1780 at least. The decoration of 
the stems was so in demand that about the middle of 
the eighteenth century the glass men looked about for 
new methods. The opaque or cotton stems exist on 
dated specimens from as early as 1745. ‘These twisted 
Opaque stems were made by welding together slender 
canes of opaque glass, placing them in the centre of a 
mould and then pouring molten glass about them. The 
stem was then revolved and drawn out according to the 
fancy of the workmen, and there resulted twisted stems 
of endless variety. ‘Towards the end of the century, 
say about 1780, coloured glass rods were introduced. 
General Washington, who was always on the lookout 
for the ‘‘newest fashion” in table appointments, evi- 
dently fancied the coloured twist. There is a small 
wine glass at Mount Vernon which belonged to him, 
with scarlet and white threads in the stem. Also one 
at the Smithsonian Museum at Washington, where are 
numerous specimens of the elegancies in which Gen- 
eral Washington indulged. 

An interesting fact stated by Mr. Bate concerning 
these wine glasses with twisted stems either white or 


[ 129 ] 


OLD GLASS 


coloured, is that the pontil mark is never smoothed off 
in authentic specimens. In many more or less recent 
forgeries it is smoothly cut away. There were many 
of these glasses with twisted coloured stems made at 
Bristol, England. Blue, that entrancing shade of sap- 
phire blue which we associate with Bristol, was of 
course largely used. Yellow and white were frequently 
used too, and a pale shade of lavender, rarely. 

Late in the eighteenth century cutting began to ap- 
pear on the stems, and wine glasses in two shades of 
green, with or without cut flutes, began to be popular. 
Then came the glasses with coloured bowls mounted 
on clear stems, a charming style, which is just coming 
in again, and being put on the market in very beautiful 
metal by some of our own glass-works. Mr. Bate in 
his book, ‘English Table Glass,” gives 1758 as the 
earliest dated wine glass with a cut stem which he has 
ever come across, and he believes that most of the cut 
stem wine glasses date between 1775 and 1800. 

The glass of this period, clear, hard and lustrous, 
presented a surface capable of taking on the finest 
decoration. The use of the wheel enabled the cutters 
and polishers to bring their art to the highest perfec- 
tion. They no longer allowed the blemish of the rough 
pontil mark to deface their choice productions, so this 
mark is often cut away, leaving a smooth circular spot. 

The English collector is able to acquire other glasses 
of more or less interest and beauty which seldom come 


[ 130 ] 





ENGLISH GLASS 


into the hands of the American collector: tall slender 
ale glasses, the stems following the general designs of 
those found in wine glasses of the same period. There 
were many kinds of ale. Cock, stepony, sage-ale, stitch- 
back, college ale, china ale and butler’s ale. The deco- 
ration of these ale glasses was very pretty, a wreath of 
hops or barley, or sometimes just a single spray done 
in the best style of the cutter’s art. 

The goblet crowded out the ale glass of which it is 
a close connection, the chief difference between the 
two being the greater width and consequently greater 
capacity of the goblet. The makers of these vessels 
seem to have gone to the extreme and produced goblets 
which were capable of holding one, two or even three 
quarts of liquor. It might be remarked in passing that 
the stems of these gigantic glasses were heavily knopped 
or cut to render them less liable to slip through uncer- 
tain fingers. 

That a great variety of wines contributed to this un- 
certainty can be proved by the fact that during the 
XVI, XVII and XVIII centuries the following wines 
could be obtained in England in addition to other strong 
drinks not here set down. There were “claret, red 
-wyne, whit wyne, Frenche wyne, New Gascon, wyne 
of Graves, Olde Frenche, Muscadyne, Rynishe, Maum- 
sey, Bastard, Cherys, Wyne of Galeake, Romanye, Ali- 

gant, Canary, Malligo, Epicrist, Sweet Spanish, Ro- 


( 131] 





OLD GLASS 





chelle, Bordeaux, Bayonne, Deale, Piment, Hippocras, 
Port, Portgual wine and Caliavela.” 
Sir John English in “Country Lasses,” 1715, writes: 


“Will your grace taste a glass of old hock, with a little, little 
dash of palm, before you eat? A Seville orange squeezed into a 
glass of noble, racy old canary? Or a glass of your right Southam 
cyder, sweetened with a little old mead and a hard toast?” 


The forerunner of the cocktail, no doubt. 

Many of these wines were rendered more palate tick- 
ling by the addition of spices. They might be touched 
up with cinnamon, mace or cloves; they might have a 
scraping of nutmeg, galingal or coriander; and there 
were also caraways, aniseed, ginger and pepper, to- 
gether with honey. 

Besides the wine and ale glasses and the huge goblets 
there were small glasses similar in shape to the goblets, 
called dram glasses. Rummers, much in shape like the 
goblets, were not only used for rum, but for grog, toddy, 
punch and all the other drinks, including home-brewed 
cider. Some distinctive cider glasses have as decora- 
tion an apple blossom, or a bunch of the fruit, or a 
border of fruit and leaves. 

Occasionally charming glass mugs are to be found, 
more often in coloured glass than in clear. But the 
decoration is far superior on the clear glass mugs to 
that on the coloured glass, since it is engraving of hop 
vines, leaves, sometimes birds and occasionally the name 
of the owner. [ have a particular fancy for glass mugs 


[ 132 ] 





ements We Te teat 


ENGLISH GLASS 





coloured or clear, preferably the former. It is a fact 
that these charming objects, often quite small, are, in 
the case of the coloured specimens, frequently defaced 
by crude ornamentation in enamel. [I have tried to re- 
move this enamel from specimens by every known 
means in my power, but it cannot be done without de- 
facing the mug. But the white glass mugs do not have 
the decorative value of the coloured ones, so I turn my 
mugs about so as to see as little of the so-called decora- 
tion as possible. 

In many of these glasses the convivial habits of the 
topers was given thought to. The desire to pound on 
the table which would annihilate any delicate glass, 
could be indulged in with impunity with those solid 
and heavy stemmed drinking glasses. Some of those 
furnished at coaching houses had no stem at all, the 
customer being expected to drain it before setting it 
down. 

Very beautiful candlesticks of clear glass following 
in shape the cut and knopped stems of the wine glasses 
and with heavy cut or domed foot, are sometimes met 
with. Other objects in clear glass are pitchers, salt 
cellars, covered cups, sugar basins, bowls and sweet- 
meat glasses; these are sometimes found and are al- 
ways interesting. There were other things too, paper- 
weights, scent bottles, inkstands and even canes and 
pipes. 

In one of Cumberland’s plays, ‘““The Natural Son,” 


[ 133 ] 





OLD GLASS 





written about 1765, one of the characters says: “TI re- 
member [I broke a glass hoop ring, which it was then 
the fashion to wear, into your finger, by squeezing your 
hand.” 

A type of glass which must have been used for sweet- 
meats, custard or some other food which could have 
been eaten out of it with a spoon, is often charming in 
shape and decoration. Mr. Hartshorne calls them 
champagne glasses, which seems a curious error, since 
it is impossible to drink out of them without spilling 
the contents, on account of the flaring rim. Besides 
being flaring this rim is often indented or deeply cut, 
a still further impediment to comfortable imbibing. 
But for whatever purpose they were intended they are 
very ornamental, and well worth a place in any cabinet. 

Gin glasses with very small bowls of very thick glass 
are sought by collectors. They were made between 
1736-43, when the tax on this liquor was very high, so 
that even a small amount was costly. After 1743, 
though some of the heavy duties were removed the 
price continued to rise, so that it still remained costly. 
In 1751 gin, though still taxed, was not hard to get. In 
a magazine of that day called “The Connoisseur,” a 
writer says: “‘Madam Gin has been christened by as 
many names as a German princess. Every petty chan- 
dler’s shop will sell you ‘Sky Blue,’ and every night 
cellar will furnish you with ‘Holland Tape.’ Nor can 
I see the difference between ‘Oil of Venus,’ ‘Spirit of 


{ 134] 


OD eeGi yo 





ERS 


ADAM CHANDELI 


Fig. 62. 


(See page 150) 


piss] 


OT- DEG As 


x 
ae 
0 
@ 
4 





STANDING LIGHTS 


Fig. 63 


BRISTOL GLASS 


64. 


Fig. 


(See pages 15\ and 155) 


[ 136 ] 





OLD?TGLASS 





Fig. 65. BRISTOL VASE Fig. 66. BRISTOL VASE, REVERSE 
(See page 155) 


[ 137] 





GUD GAs. 





Fig. 67. BRISTOL COVERED JAR 
Fig. 68. BRISTOL CUT GLASS BOWL 


(See page 156) 
[138 ] 


OLD. GUASS 


SSVISD HOT IOLSIYd 


“69 


cod 


(9ST abng aag) 





[ 139 ] 


OULD GLASS 





PAPER-WEIGHT 


Fig. 70. 


NAILSEA FLASKS 


Rigs 7 15 


(See pages 158 and 170) 


[ 140 ] 





OD D..G LASS 





Fig. 72, ROLLING-PINS 
(See page 170) 


[141 ] 


OU DAG LASS 


SsOnl GNV SATILLOA VASTIVN 





"EL “SI 





142 | 


[ 





ENGLISH GLASS 


Adona,’ and ‘Parfait Amour,’ for the use of our qual- 
ity, and what among the vulgar is called ‘Cupid’s Eye- 
water,’ ‘Strip me Naked,’ and ‘Lay me Down Softly.’ ” 

Besides these drinking glasses of all descriptions 
there were many vastly more beautiful objects made, 
generally in rich cut glass and often mounted in silver 
or Sheffield plate. Tea caddies of glass heavily cut 
were mounted in silver with silver handles and lock. 
Punch bowls with the edges cut in squares so that the 
glasses could be hung on were made of silver or plate; 
Sheffield and Birmingham made many of them. They 
were often called monteiths, though the original mon- 
teiths were made to wash glasses, not to hold liquor. 
and were named after the inventor. 


“New things produce new words, and thus Monteth 
Has by one vessel saved his name from death.” 


Coloured glass bottles are sometimes found of the 
size and shape of Worcestershire sauce bottles, and 
with Sheffield plate screw tops. I found one recently, 
and the plate was worn down to the copper in spots. 
Epergnes, table ornaments of many kinds, girandoles 
and table lights, were often combined with plate. Al- 
though they were made in several places in England, 
both glass and mountings, it is customary for those 
who own them to call the glass Waterford, and the 
plate Sheffield! 

In Sir James Yoxall’s little book, “Collecting Old 


[ 143] 





OLD GLASS 


Glass,” he gives seven tests which the collector should 
apply to the piece before he buys it. 


One. The tint of the glass. 

Two. The sound of the glass. 

Three. The quality of the glass metal. 
Four. The weight. 

Five. Signs of use and wear. 

Six. Pontil Mark. 

Seven. Workmanship. 


To my mind there is nothing so necessary for the 
would-be collector as experience, and by this I mean 
the handling of much glass of which the history is 
known. After you learn the peculiar tint of old glass 
of English and Irish make particularly, the weight of 
the object seems to me to be of great importance. 

A book on “English Baluster Stemmed Glasses of 
the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries,” by Francis 
Buckley, has this to say about the weight of those 
glasses: ‘English made glasses of the first period were 
all light in weight and cloudy in appearance. Some 
time between the Restoration and the end of the seven- 
teenth century, but when precisely it is difficult to say, 
the English glass-makers began to try experiments with 
a view to removing from their glass this dull and cloudy 
appearance. Their object was to produce a substance 
like crystal; and this object they eventually achieved 
by introducing into their metal a large quantity of 
lead. This gave the characteristic weight.” 

- Of course when you come to consider weight, you 


[ 144] 





ENGLISH GLASS 





must take into consideration the class of the object, 
blown glass being light while cut glass cut from the 
block, and much moulded glass is heavy. If the 
moulded glass is blown into a mould, not pressed in 
mechanically, it may be as light in weight as blown 
glass. Old moulded glass is often extremely beautiful, 
more attractive when in coloured glass, than when it 
is cut. 

There are collectors who claim to be able to tell the 
difference between English and Irish glass by the pat- 
terns used in the cutting. But this test does not always 
prove satisfactory, for the glass-cutters copied from 
each other patterns which became popular. Both Eng- 
lish and Irish cutters used hobnail, diamond, straw- 
berry and pomegranate cutting. The Stourbridge cut- 
ting was as a rule deep, regular, less free and flowing 
than the work on [Irish glass, and less attractive than 
the Bristol cutting, which was deep, to be sure, but 
in free designs as well. The thistle cutting of New- 
castle consisted of small diamond-shaped design upon 
glasses which somewhat resembled the thistle in form. 

The pomegranate, a favourite, was often combined 
with diamond cutting. The star on the bottom of old 
glass is usually on the bottom of the base, extending 
to the edge. In modern glass the star is generally 
smaller. 

In that most comprehensive book by Dudley Wes- 
tropp, “Irish Glass,” to which all students of this sub- 


{ 145] 


OLD GLASS 


ject are deeply indebted, he has this to say with refer- 
ence to English glass-workers in Ireland: 

“Tt must be remembered that most of the glass-works 
set up in Ireland were erected by Englishmen, who 
would naturally introduce English forms and cutting, 
and who would also use the same materials that they 
had been accustomed to employ in England. In the 
report of the committee appointed in 1785 to enquire 
into the commercial relations between Great Britain 
and Ireland, John Holmes, flint-glass manufacturer, 
Whitefriars, London, stated that three-quarters of the 
glass workmen in [Ireland were emigrants from Eng- 
land, and that the masters of four of the Irish glass- 
houses were Englishmen.” 

He also states that when the Waterford and Cork 
glass-houses were established, all the workmen and 
materials were brought over from England. Work- 
men were constantly going back and forth to Ireland, 
and the report goes on to say that “Mr. Hill, a great 
manufacturer at Stourbridge, had lately gone to Water- 
ford, and taken the best set of workmen he could get 
in the County of Worcester.” The number of men 
that Mr. Hill took is later stated to be “eight or ten,” 
and the report also states that numbers of skilled work- 
men went to Ireland and France. 

Yet there are people who declare that they can dis- 
tinguish English glass from Irish! 

As for the glass made in other Irish centres besides 


[ 146] 





ENGLISH GLASS 


Waterford, Mr. Westropp says: “The glass-house set 
up at Drumrea, near Dungannon, and also the one at 
Belfast, were both carried on by Benjamin Edwards, 
a Bristol glass-maker, and as we have seen, the Cork 
and Waterford factories were worked by Stourbridge 
glass-makers, and obtained all their materials from 
England. Thus the glass made, during the early per- 
iod at least, at Cork and Waterford, would be simply 
Stourbridge glass made in these towns, and that made 
at Drumrea and Belfast would be very similar to Bris- 
tol glass. The Drumrea glass-house used local sand, 
which may have caused a slight difference in the metal, 
but for the Belfast glass-works the sand used during 
the eighteenth century would probably have been ob- 
tained from the same source as that for the Bristol 
works,” 

But though the question of where this lovely old 
glass was made is most intricate, the collector has a 
great range of objects to choose from, most of them far 
more pleasing than the wine glasses which appeal so 
strongly to the English collector, and which need a 
whole chronological series to be of any great interest. 

Great quantities of English glass were sent to Amer- 
ica. As early as August, 1719, there was a “Glass 
Shop” in Queen Street, Boston, which advertised in 
the Boston News Letter of that date. By fifty years 
later the objects in glass to be bought at all the large 
centres in this country were immense in number. Leav- 


[ 147 } 


OLD GLASS 





ing out most of the different wine glasses, there were to 
be found: “cream jugs, syllabub and sweetmeat glasses, 
cruet stands, flowered wine and water glasses, glass 
salvers, small enamelled shank wine glasses, flowered, 
scalloped and plain decanters, jugs and mugs, salver 
and pyramids, glasses for silver, salts and sweetmeats, 
poles with spires and glasses, smelling bottles, sconces, 
tulip and flower glasses of the newest patterns, finger 
basins and tumblers of all sorts.” 

There were also made at the various English fac- 
tories and on sale here, punch, salad and trifle bowls, 
punch lifters, custard glasses and stands, flip glasses, 
fruit baskets, epergnes, tazzas, sugar bowls with or 
without covers, castors, nightlight glasses, wine coolers, 
pickle and mustard jars, preserve pots, vases, standing 
cups and covers, butter pots, celery glasses, weather 
glasses, witch balls, holy water vessels, posset pots, 
door-stops, paper-weights, lustres, spill holders, toy 
birds and animals, glass eggs and gazing balls. 

Sets of glass ware as well as sets of china were held 
in great esteem, and such a set with diamond cutting 
is shown in Figure 60. Salt-cellars form a most at- 
tractive subject for the collector, beginning with those 
with oval bowls, standing on short stems and heavily 
cut. These come not only in clear glass, but in blue 
and ruby as well but very rarely in green. Bristol 
turned out some most attractive striped ones, and Ire- 


land very heavy ones richly cut. The collector who 
Figure 60, page 117, 


[ 148) 


re 


ENGLISH GLASS 


has the opportunity to frequent antique shops and auc- 
tion sales, and a long deep purse, has a chance to fol- 
low almost any hobby in the glass line. 

Millefiori paper-weights, whether of Venetian, Bris- 
tol, French or New Jersey make, are most attractive, 
but we do bar those made in Kansas! These paper- 
weights have risen hugely in cost during the last year 
or two. The paper-weights vary exceedingly in size, 
colouring, details of manufacture and beauty, but they 
are almost all interesting, and offer a wide field for 
what is, after all, one of the chief delights of collecting, 
speculation as to where the piece was made, when, 
who owned it, and those thousand and one reflections 
which float through your mind as you finger these silent 
records of other days. It might be stated right here 
that not only were paper-weights made in this millefiori 
ware, but inkstands and pepper-pots as well. I have 
seen both these objects and they are always of very 
superior workmanship: that is, the mosaic arrangement 
is composed of very small pieces and the colouring 
rich. The pepper-pots have pewter tops which do not 
screw on but have a hinge and snap. 

In Figure 61 is a mantle set for candles with cut glass 
prisms. These were very popular and no woman con- 
sidered the best room or parlour complete without a 
set of lustres, as they were called, in which she burned 
wax candles when company came, bayberry dips not 


being considered choice enough. 
Figure 61, page 118. 


[ 149 ] 


OLD GLASS 


There were also chandeliers and wall-lights in plain 
crystal or crystal and coloured glass, many of them 
made during the Adam period and based on their de- 
signs, therefore of simple and elegant patterns. Some 
are shown in Figure 62. It is claimed that Waterford 
alone made pear-shaped drops for chandeliers and wall- 
lights, but many chandeliers which I have examined, 
and which are known to have been of English make, 
were also decorated with the same shaped drops. 

The large crystal chandelier which has been sus- 
pended from the ceiling in the Declaration Room of 
Independence Hall, Philadelphia, for upward of two 
centuries, and which was recently removed, has been 
cleaned and restrung and its beauty is attracting much 
attention from visitors. 

When the plans were drawn up by the Philadelphia 
Chapter of the American Institute of Architects pro- 
viding for restoration of Independence Hall to its orig- 
inal condition it was determined to retain the chandelier 
on account of its historical value. The records in the 
possession of Wilfred Jordan, curator of Independence 
Hall, show that the candle fixture was placed in the 
room in which the Declaration of Independence was 
signed to illuminate the chamber at the night session 
held by the Continental Congress. 

The chandelier was made at Waterford, Ireland, and 


imported to America in 1760. It is considered by ex- 
Figure 62, page 135, 


[ 150 ] 


ENGLISH GLASS 


perts to-day to be one of the finest chandeliers of its 
kind in the world. 

The standing lights shown in Figure 63 are most 
decorative. These were made for candles and were 
extremely brilliant when lighted. In fact the beauty 
of glass for use in lighting effects has been known for 
centuries, and though occasionally a fad for some other 
medium comes up it does not last long. The study of 
prisms alone provokes surprise, for the variety of them 
isimmense. They may be in one, two, or three sections, 
the commonest form being two. They may be either 
cut or pressed, be square on the bottom or pointed, and 
no matter what form they take are always ornamental. 
Occasionally they are cut on the back in diamond or 
small point design. I have a turquoise glass spill 
holder with prisms hanging from the fluted rim. These 
are in two sections and are very prettily cut in small 
points on the back, and have long slender points on 
the ends. 

Occasionally the prism may be clear glass with 
coloured points. I have seen them with both green and 
blue points, in the latter case they were on a lamp of 
clear glass heavily engraved. ‘There are also to be 
found prisms, so called, cut from thick coloured glass 
in a conventional leaf shape. They are called “Eng- 


lish” but are a device of the faker to charm the unwary. 
Figure 63, page 136. 


[151] 


BRISTOL GLASS 


HE history of Bristol, known as a “trade town,” 
began about the year 1000, when a small Saxon 
settlement grew up at the junction of the rivers 

Frome and Avon. Wool, which was exported to the 
Baltic, a wine trade with France, soap-making and 
tanning were the earliest industries. Later, from about 
1377 to 1488, the wool trade was supplanted by the cloth 
trade, the rich and powerful Society of Merchant Ven- 
turers was established, and the voyages of John and 
Sebastian Cabot took place. In the sixteenth century 
Bristol traded with Spain, the Canaries, the Spanish 
colonies in America, and began traffic in slaves. 

By the eighteenth century the chief aids to the pros- 
perity of the city were the manufactures of iron, brass, 
tin and copper and the flourishing slave trade, West 
Indian sugar being taken in exchange for African 
slaves.* 

The glass and china trade never grew of sufficient 
importance to be reckoned as one of the great indus- 
tries of Bristol, though shipments of both these goods 
were sent to the different countries where there were 
trade relations. | 

In May, 1696, there were ninety glass-houses in 


® “Tittle Red Book of Bristol,” ete. 


[ 152 ] 


ee 
BRISTOL GLASS 
es i ee 


England, twenty-four of these being in London, nine 
at Bristol, seventeen at Stourbridge, and eleven at New- 
castle.* 

Queen Anne visited Bristol in 1702 and the Corpora- 
tion of the City gave her a dinner; among the expense 
items enumerated was six pounds and fourteen shillings 
for glass. 

The troubles of the Bristol glass-makers began early. 
In Latimer’s “Annals of Bristol,” he writes: “a fiscal 
interference with the glass trade, exciting much local 
irritation, was resolved upon by the Government during 
the session (1728). With the object of preventing 
smuggling, the importation of wine in bottles and small 
casks was absolutely prohibited. The Bristol glass- 
makers petitioned against the proposal, asserting that 
many thousand persons were employed in making bot- 
tles for exportation, which were re-imported filled with 
wine, and that the stoppage of the business would cause 
entire destruction of the bottle trade; but the protest 
was ineffectual.” 

When the Duke of York visited the Bristol glass- 
houses on December 27, 1761, the black bottle, flint 
and plate glass manufacturers occupied fifteen large 
glass-houses, some of them being entirely confined to 
bottle-making.t 

On August 22, 1789, Wadham, Ricketts and Com- 
pany opened the Phoenix Flint Glass Works, which 


* Houghton’s Letters. 
ft Evans: “History of Bristol,” 


[ 153 ] 


OLD GLASS 


works still exist under the firm name of Powell and 
Ricketts. The story of Bristol glass-making, like that 
of most other glass-making centres, is mixed up with 
that of other towns where glass was made. Men from 
Birmingham came to both Bristol and Nailsea—they 
were only nine miles apart—and some of the Bristol 
men went to Sunderland, where the firm of Hartleys 
was established in 1836. 

It might be well to state here that some of the most 
effective forgeries of Bristol and Nailsea glass are made 
at or near Birmingham, very skillfully aged by the use 
of acids. Birmingham has long been in the business 
of making coloured glass, for in December, 1830, 
Jonathan Wright of Waterford, Ireland, wrote that 
he was not only going to have the finest shop in Water- 
ford “but was getting in some coloured glass and other 
things from Birmingham.” * 

Bristol made fine table glass, transparent, and besides 
the crystal, made it in blue, greenish blue, purple, and 
red. It is well to remember that Bristol red glass is 
of the ruby hue, with less vermilion in it than the 
Bohemian product. They also made what they called 
“cherry-red” glass.t 

Much of the Bristol glass had lines, sprigs and floral 
designs on it in gold, and these wore off if the object 
was much handled. I have a water bottle, double ogee 
in shape, in dark blue glass which has little sprigs 


*Westropp: “Irish Glass.” 
t Yoxall: “Collecting Old Glass.” 


[154] 





BRISTOL GLASS 





in gold scattered all over it. These sprigs are all worn 
off around the neck, and on that part of the body where 
the hand rested in lifting the bottle. 

Sir James Yoxall in his little book, “Collecting Old 
Glass,” says that nobody can be sure from which place, 
Bristol or Nailsea, came any particular bauble. They 
both made flasks, witch balls, rolling-pins, mugs and 
jugs, pipes and canes, scent bottles, hats and other 
trifles. In Figure 64 the two dark pieces waved and 
flecked with white are in the Bristol Museum, England, 
and marked “Bristol.” The theory is that the brighter 
pieces are Bristol, the more delicate and refined glass, 
Nailsea, like the third bottle of clear glass with white 
lines. 

There are collectors who particularly esteem the 
opaque white glass which imitates as closely as possible, 
at least in decoration, Oriental china. The most desir- 
able pieces were decorated by Michael Edkins, for. 
merly a painter of Delftware. Painting on china 
proved not so profitable as painting on glass, ap- 
parently, and between the years 1762 and 1787, no 
fewer than five glass firms of repute engaged him. 

Some of his work, done at the glass-works of Little 
and Longman, Redcliff Back, is shown in Figures 65 
and 66. It reveals how closely the Chinese style was 
copied. The English decorator was very partial to 
the tall Oriental figures which he called “long Elizas” 


and which were very decorative. Whistler once 
Figures 64, 65 and 66, pages 136 and 137. 


[155] 


OLD GLASS 


painted a picture which he named “‘Langen Lizen,” and 
which at one time was owned in this country. 

The opaque covered jar in Figure 67 is a lovely 
thing, all the better perhaps without decoration. These 
Opaque pieces and the very heavily cut glass bowl in 
Figure 68, Bristol also, are in the Bristol Museum, 
England. This cut glass bowl, or basin as the English 
prefer to call it, is for sugar, and is only four and a 
half inches high. 

Collectors in America are as a rule more eager for 
the clear, vivid royal blue glass made at Bristol. These 
pieces are sometimes decorated with spiral lines of 
white glass which ends in a white rim, and sometimes 
with a white rim alone like pieces occasionally met 
with in this country. They made odd pieces of this 
blue glass, such as twisted snakes flecked with gold, 
and little hats all in the plain blue. Many of these rich 
blue pieces were decorated as well as made by Isaac 
Jacobs, whose father Lazarus had a glass-house in 
Temple Street, Bristol, from 1785 to 1787. Isaac was 
glass manufacturer to His Majesty George III, and 
seems to have continued in business till 1821. Pieces 
of royal blue glass signed by him are in the Bristol 
Museum. 

The peculiar richness of this Bristol blue glass is said 
to be due to the presence of antimony, which gives depth 
of color and great brilliancy. In Figure 69 are shown 


some pieces of this blue Bristol glass which are in the 
Figures 67, 68 and 60, pages 138 and 139. 


[ 156] 





BRISTOL GLASS 





Pennsylvania Museum. The covered bowl in a stand 
is unusually fine. The bowl has the white edge spoken 
of before, and is engraved on the side, “Bristol, 1812.” 

The little mug beside it is an attractive example of 
these small objects. I have one like it, exquisite in 
color, but thickly strewn with tiny air bub- 
bles which were the result of insufficient “cooking” of 
the metal. A crude little wreath of flowers is on the 
front of my mug, a very common form of decoration. 
Sometimes they just daubed little streaks of red, blue 
and yellow and let it go at that. This decoration on 
my piece is not enamel but in some kind of mineral 
paint which wears off somewhat with use. 

Bristol in its palmy days boasted no less than fifteen 
glass-houses, and had no rival as to quality or output. 
This was in 1760. About a hundred years earlier an 
order by the City Council was to the effect that “‘no 
stranger or foreigner should presume to open a shop, 
either with or without glass windows, under a penalty 
of five pounds.” | 

Bristol made imitation of Venetian glass to such per- 
fection that Sidney J. Lewis in his book, “Old Glass 
and How to Collect It,” says: “Many a collection hail- 
ing ostensibly from Venice, must on close scrutiny be 
attributed to a place of origin much nearer home. This 
form of substitution was particularly prevalent in the 
case of glass ornamented with white twisted threads, 
and in the case of ruby-coloured glasses and mugs.” 


[157] 





OLD GLASS 


There were made at Bristol cups, mugs, salt-cellars, 
small bowls, finger basins, vases both open and 
covered, candlesticks and taper sticks, flasks, bells, 
canes, paper-weights, etc. I own a paper-weight, 
Figure 70, which I believe was made at Bristol. It is 
of unusual type. On an oblong base reclines a typical 
British bull-dog and the whole piece is in that rarely 
beautiful shade of deep blue. The piece is very heavy, 
and the dog was made in a mould and added to the base, 
the undercutting showing plainly. There are signs of 
much wear on the base and two or three chips, but the 
dog is perfect. 

Many glass paper-weights were made at Bristol sixty 
or seventy years ago, which are not at all easy to find 
now, although it is said that they have been made again 
in recent years. They show a cameo of glass, silvered, 
mounted upon a lump of clear glass, and the effect is 
quite pleasing. Sometimes these glass cameos were 
placed on vases, generally of highly coloured opaque 
glass. Occasionally they are brought down from top 
shelves of store closets where they have defied time and 
the rummage sale for several generations. 

These silvered cameos were invented by Apsley Pel- 
lat (born 1791, died 1863) and he called them “‘crys- 
tallo ceramie.” It was a species of glass incrustation, 
and they were not only applied to paper-weights and 
vases, but to bottles, decanters, snuff-boxes, lustres for 


lights and rings. —The cameos were made of a compo- 
Figure 70, page 140. 


[ 158] 





Osler Ao 





Fig. 74. CANDELABRA 
(See page 179) 


E159] 








OUD.GEADSS 





Fig. 75. DECANTER, MARKED “PENROSE” 
(See page 182) 


[ 160 ] 


OT DeGIAS 5 


GYOTWALVM ATAVAOUd 


‘sonal 


QL ‘BI 


(16L 2bn¢g aag) 





[ 161 | 


O17 De Gilt 


SSVID AUYATAO 


GNV TMOd 


"LL “SI 


(161 240¢ 228; 





162 | 


[ 


eS, 


ODT G LASS 


eee 





Fig. 78. WATERFORD GLASS 
Fig. 79. WATERFORD AND CORK TUMBLERS 
(See page 192) 


[ 163 ] 


ODID= GAs 


GuOTNALVM 


‘SLATAOD 


08 


‘Bl 








[ 164 ] 


OLD GLASS 


> 


SVID WaOO AO NITHAG 


LSe, ol 


(961 a6ng 909) 





[ 165 ] 


—_ 


OLD. GLASS 


STMOd 


YAAONAOL 


GQNV UdVHS-LVOd 


‘73 “SI 








[ 166 | 


J Ssh Sl Sess trsbpa/essoseeeesthoceneusscaes 


BRISTOL GLASS 
re nr 


sition of china clay and super-silicate of potash, which 
was able to stand a higher degree of heat than the glass 
upon which they were superimposed. It is odd how 
few of them have survived. 

Bottles for water and decanters of this same entranc- 
ing shade of blue spoken of before are not hard to find. 
I have a couple, one with a chain of gilt painted about 
its neck, and an oval mark enclosing the word “shrub.” 
There is a pretty stopper, oval in shape and having a 
few lines of gilt on it. The second bottle is of the 
same shape but greater capacity and of a finer quality 
glass, perfectly cooked so that there are no air bubbles; 
both of them have collared necks. 

Of course to show this coloured glass to best ad- 
vantage it must be displayed against the light. Ar- 
ranged in a window on glass shelves, against ground 
glass, so that there is a clear opaque background for it, 
it is very ornamental. 

Door-stops were also made at Bristol as well as at 
other places. The Bristol ones were of a clear shade 
of green with many air bubbles in them, which looked 
something like a fountain. Some of these door-stops 
in addition to being flattened on the bottom were also 
flat on one side so as to rest against the door. Paper- 
weights of this same shade of green glass were also a 
Bristol product. They often had in them lily-like 
flowers and some of them were five or six inches tall. 

The dolphin as an ornament on glass probably origi- 


[ 167 ] 


OLD GLASS 


nated in Venice. A single dolphin in exquisite opal 
glass, bearing on his tail a shallow flaring dish, shell- 
like in shape, is not a rare Italian model. ‘Twisted 
dolphins were used in England as well as single ones, 
and sometimes they were used on covers. Later the 
dolphin was much used in the various Sandwich pat- 
terns of pressed glass. 

The little bird as a cover ornament is also Italian, 
English, and then American, showing how the glass- 
makers copied anything they thought attractive no mat- 
ter where they found it. These little birds on top of a 
covered mug are very graceful, even if the shape of 
the bird is somewhat crude. 

The influence of the Bristol glass-makers was more 
far-reaching than is commonly suspected. Mr. Wes- 
tropp gives credit to Bristol glass-makers for establish- 
ing glass-works ‘n Ireland, and Mr. Hunter in his 
book, ‘“‘Stiegel Glass,” speaks of Stiegel following the 
“Bristol tradition.” ‘There are art.cles known to have 
been made by Stiegel, for example some of the covered 
bowls and other objects in transparent blue glass with 
a rim of white glass which are precisely like those made 
at Bristol. 


fF 168 ] 


NAILSEA GLASS 


HE town of Nailsea where glass-making flour- 
ished for eighty-five years, finally closing its 
doors in 1873, is in Somerset, and in the Bristol 

district. This accounts for its productions being so 
often classed as old Bristol glass, and for the fact that 
there is so little on record having reference to Nailsea 
alone. 

The works, called the “(Nailsea Glass Works,” were 
opened in 1788 by John Robert Lucas, who was a son of 
Robert Lucas, a glass bottle manufacturer of Bristol, 
who died 1775. 

In 1793 the firm of Lucas, Chance, Homer and Coat- 
hupe was established at Nailsea, and the business must 
have been profitable, for in 1807 when the partnership 
was renewed the firm had a capital of sixty thousand 
pounds, and in addition to the crown glass works at 
Nailsea, owned at least two other works at other places, 
and had an office and warehouse at Bristol. 

In 1810 Robert Lucas Chance became manager of 
the works, and from that time on the firm passed 
through different hands, till in 1836 it became the well- 
known firm of Chance Bros. and Co.* There were 


after this many more changes in ownership, till, curi- 
* The Connoisseur, 1911: “Nailsea Glass.” 


[ 169 ] 


OLD GLASS 


ously enough, the firm name became again in 1870 
Chance Bros. and Co., and they carried on the business 
till 1873, when the works were closed. There have 
been many reasons given for the closing of the works 
in 1873, but as only sheet and rolled plate glass were 
made there then, the reason probably was that they 
did not pay. 

The Nailsea glass which is of interest to collectors 
shows specimens very beautiful in color, like the orna- 
mental flasks which were Nailsea’s chief product; a 
few of them are shown in Figure 71. The flask with 
the top in this figure is Venetian, and shows where the 
inspiration for the Nailsea flasks came from. Objects 
more or less quaint, like the rolling-pins, Figure 72, 
were made in numbers, and there were jugs, pipes, bells 
and some pieces known as “freaks,” which it is sup- 
posed the workmen made and sold on their own account. 

The flasks display the well-known ribbon or lat- 
ticinio effects, made popular by the French and 
Venetian workmen who moved from one factory to 
another. These charming flasks vary in height from 
three and a quarter to about ten and a half inches. A 
few of them have the double neck which was so charac- 
teristic of Venice. Nearly every colour was employed, 
clear and opaque, white, brown, yellow, red, pink, 
salmon, and greens and blue, both dark and light. The 
rolling-pins had knops at the ends, and generally one 


of these could be opened to put in flour or water to 
Figures 71 and 72, pages 140 and 141. 


[ 170] 





NAILSEA GLASS 





give it weight. Many of them are beautifully ribboned 
while there are also plain coloured ones of dark glass 
with such pious mottoes as, “May the eye of the Lord 
watch ever,” presumably to keep the user from skimp- 
ing on the recipe, or from using “just as goods.” 

There were bottles and jugs spotted and striped, the 
decoration crude, but the shapes of the bottles very 
attractive. Every collector of old glass, no matter how 
dainty and fanciful the objects he gathers, smuggles 
in somewhere one or two of those delightful wide- 
bodied bottles, often in a rich dark green glass, or in 
brown or a pale bluish green, clear glass. Nailsea made 
these Falstaffian-bodied objects in these colours; see 
Figure 73. A few have been found in the dark green 
with white striping. 

Glass bells were some of the choicest of their 
products. They were very decorative if not very use- 
ful. Some were of ruby tint with clear glass clappers, 
and handles of greenish-white opaque glass with a knob 
on top of peacock blue. 

The old-time potworks in various parts of England 
were worked by a rough crew which came from all 
parts of Europe. In the days of the great Wedgwood, 
Burslem, Etruria, in fact all the ‘““Five Towns” as the 
great pottery centres were called, were subjects of great 
concern as to their morals and manners, both of which 


were bad. The great preacher Whitfield went down 
Figure 73, page 142. 


[171] 


OLD GLASS 


to conduct meetings, and, to say the least, was not 
favourably received. 

The glass-works at Nailsea were as bad. It is re- 
corded that in 1792 the glass-house people lived in nine- 
teen cottages, nearly two hundred of them, and that they 
were herded in together, both sexes and all ages. They 
called themselves ‘“‘savages” or “‘heads,” and to such as 
came to minister to them were as rough as the potters. 
They called their group of hovels “Little Hell” or 
“Botany Bay.” It is stated that Hannah and Martha 
Moore, religious teachers, had considerable success 
taming these savages, but that is as it may be. 

Such people were of course superstitious, so they 
ade hollow glass balls, sometimes as large as seven 
inches in diameter, which were intended as charms to 
ward off the Evil Eye. They were gaudy things daubed 
on the inside with many colours. Yet I have seen one 
of these Nailsea balls hanging in a window (which 
was where the Nailsea men put them) on the Massa- 
chusetts coast, looking out to sea, which was a thing 
of beauty. It is a very rich blue, flecked with white, 
and has the pleasing effect which all these Nailsea 
objects have. The makers may have been rough, tough 
personages, but the work of their hands was admirable. 

The style of glass produced at Nailsea was un- 
doubtedly Venetian with its latticinio effects. The 
native workmen were taught by French and Venetian 
glass-blowers who went from one factory to another. 


[172] 





NAILSEA GLASS 





Many of the Frenchmen lived at Nailsea, and a row 
of cottages was built for them known as “French Rank.” 
Glass-workers are very liable to chest diseases and 
snails were considered a panacea. The Bristol glass- 
workers probably contracted the taste for them from 
the Nailsea Frenchmen, for they still eat them.* 

Another thing which the Nailsea glass men made 
for health’s sake, was a long glass tube or cane, some- 
times a yard to eight feet long, which they set up in their 
houses and wiped clean every morning, so that the dis- 
eases which gathered on it could be wiped away. If 
the rod was broken, that house which owned it was 
marked for misfortune. 

So attractive is this old Nailsea glass that there are 
many forged pieces of it on the market. Jugs, bottles, 
bowls of a poor quality glass with wide, wavy, white 
lines are to be found in abundance with positive as- 
surance from the sellers that they are “old Nailsea.” 
It is well to remember that the objects made at Nail- 
sea were almost always small, and that they are rarely 
to be met with in this country. None of the pieces 
shown in the illustrations are above ten inches tall. 


* The Connoisseur: “Nailsea Glass.” 


[ 173] 


IRISH GLASS 
a story of Irish glass is an interesting one, and 


romantic as well. So little has been known 

about the Irish factories and their product that 
bit by bit legends have grown up about them, par- 
ticularly Waterford. It is curious how quickly the 
facts about an industry seem to vanish, even one which 
was as prosperous in its day as Waterford in Ireland, 
or Sandwich, in America. 

But while all old Irish glass is interesting and in 
most cases beautiful, more interest seems to attach 
to what was made in Waterford than to that made at 
either Cork, Dublin or Belfast. But this is really only 
a fanciful notion, for in Ireland as in all glass-making 
centres, the workmen travelled about from one place 
to another, using the same materials for the metal, 
the same patterns for the objects they made, and the 
same designs for decoration. The Cork Glass Cutter’s 
Union had a fine device on their membership cards, 
and the motto upon it was, “A Pleasant Road and a 
Cheerful Welcome to Every Tramp.” 

It is only within the last few years that the true his- 
tory of Irish glass has been patiently dug out of old 
records, newspapers, account books and family his- 
tories. This task has been performed by M. S. Dudley 


[174] 


IRISH GLASS 


(LL eee ee ea sec SS 
Westropp, lately of the National Museum of Ireland, 
who has done for Irish glass what Mr. Hartshorne 
did for English glass. 

For the collector it is unfortunate that this Irish glass 
has been so eagerly sought. It has paid the forger to 
reproduce it, and to get hold of plain pieces which are 
real antiques and cut them in the old patterns, so that 
the result is not unlike the spurious French statues of 
the Gothic period which have deceived Museum ex- 
perts both in Europe and America. 

You will constantly hear it stated that it is possible 
to distinguish real old Waterford glass by its blue tint, 
owing to the presence of lead. This is not so. Mr. 
Westropp in his book, “Irish Glass,” says: “With the 
exception of a few drawings of some of the patterns 
used in the Waterford glass-house, no others belonging 
to Irish glass-works are known to exist.” He next says 
that “Waterford glass has not the blue tint hitherto 
ascribed to it. This in itself stamps as spurious hun- 
dreds of pieces which have been accepted as genuine 
Waterford. . . . If all the alleged Waterford glass in 
existence were genuine, despite the output of the factory 
and allowing for the amount that has been broken, 
it would have taken probably two or three glass-houses 
to produce it.” 

Something like the amount of stuff that descendants 
claim came over in the Mayflower! 

But it is true that there are varying tints in this old 


[175] 





OLD GLASS 





glass. When placed upon a white cloth, much of the 
old cut-glass has what might be called a darkling tint, 
not exactly bluish, nor blackish either, but something 
entirely different from the colour of modern cut-glass, 
no matter what its origin. 

There is in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington 
a very handsome large, covered, cut-glass bowl. The 
workmanship is choice and the patterns identical on 
both bowl and cover, yet the shade of glass in the 
two pieces is markedly different. Probably made from 
two different batches of the metal. In the making of 
this old glass the scum rose to the top and had to be 
skimmed off. The goods made from the glass in the 
top of the pot were known as “tale” goods and were 
inferior to those made from the glass in the middle of 
the pot, which was the best. 

Few trades were more harassed by taxes than glass- 
making. In England a terrible excise duty was im- 
posed in 1746 and so many and vexatious were the re- 
strictions that it is a wonder that the industry survived. 
It was 1825 before the excise duty was introduced into 
Ireland, where there were flourishing glass-works at 
Cork, Belfast, Dublin and Waterford. The duty was 
imposed upon the molten glass in the crucible, “metal” 
it is called, and on unfinished goods. So as soon as the 
glass-maker got these out of the clutches of the excise 
man he set to work to decorate his glass as much as 


[176] 





IRISH GLASS 





possible, so as to sell it at a sufficient profit to make it 
worth while. | 

The period between 1780 and 1810 is said to be 
the most important in English glass-making. It 
lasted about fifteen years longer in Ireland. It took, 
however, only twenty-five years of this excise duty on 
glass in the crucible and unfinished, to completely ruin 
the Irish branch of the industry, which has never been 
revived. 


[177] 


WATERFORD GLASS 


HE making of glass in the city of Waterford was 
begun in 1729. The factory—there was only 
one—closed in 1851. Mr. Westropp says that 

between 1740 and 1783 no glass was made in or near 
Waterford. 

Joseph Harris was the first manufacturer to set up 
a glass-house at Waterford, and later in the century, 
1783, George and William Penrose established a glass- 
house and made much glass. They sold their works, 
however, in 1799 to James Ramsey, Jonathan Gatchell 
and Ambrose Barcroft. These men, under the firm 
name of Ramsey, Gatchell and Barcroft, did business 
together till 1811 when Jonathan Gatchell became sole 
owner. | 

He continued the business till 1823, when the firm 
of Gatchell and Walpole was formed. Jonathan Gat- 
chell died this year, but the firm continued, and was 
finally dissolved in 1835. From 1835 to 1848 the firm 
name was George Gatchell and Co. In 1851 the fac- 
tory was closed.* 

Some idea of the amount of the output may be gath- 
ered when it is known that as many as two hundred 


*Westropp: “Irish Glass.” 


[ 178 ] 





WATERFORD GLASS 


workmen were daily at work at the glass-house up to 
1820 and that an equal number had been employed for 
thirty-six years.* 

But the most interesting point, to Americans at least, 
is that thousands, hundreds of thousands of pieces of 
this glass were sent to the United States, that Gatchell’s 
account books duly set it down and that American 
newspapers advertised it for sale. As late as 1842 
George Gatchell and Co. announced that they made 
“every article made of glass for use, luxury or adorn- 
ment; also chandeliers, lustres, lamps, hall bells, and 
candelabra in bronze, ormolu and glass. Medical 
establishments supplied.” 

Prior to 1795 that splendid old potter, Wedgwood, 
combined his beautiful blue and white ware in candela- 
bra with glass for branches and prisms. They are very 
rare in this country, but in October, 1921, two pairs 
were sold at auction in New York City. They were 
listed as ‘‘Waterford glass candelabra with Wedgwood 
bases.” One pair brought five hundred dollars, the 
other five hundred and ten dollars. 

Through the courtesy of Antiques one of these 
candelabra is shown in Figure 74. Most of these 
candelabra have crystal chains, but these chains are 
crystal and blue glass. Amber glass was also occa- 
sionally used. A pair of candelabra somewhat similar, 
and which belonged to General Washington, are on 


® Waterford Mirror, May §, 1820. 
Figure 74, page 159. 


[ 179] 





OLD GLASS 


exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum at Washington. 
They are extremely beautiful and quite perfect. 

This Waterford glass is no more perishable than the 
old Staffordshire bone paste crockery which was hunted 
out in such quantities some years ago. Indeed, when 
you come to special pieces, that is aside from drinking 
glasses and bottles, more care was taken of them than 
of the crockery. After the making of flint glass was 
established the glass improved in quality and the cut- 
ting of glass after 1740 was quite general. 

By 1786 Waterford was sending large quantities of 
assorted glass to New York. In 1793 they sent there 
36,000 drinking bottles, and two hundred and ninety 
pounds’ worth of other glassware. From 1796 to 1798 
Waterford sent to New York 100,382 drinking glasses, 
and three hundred and seventy-five pounds’ worth of 
other glassware. Nor was New England left without 
her quota, for in 1805, 17,280 drinking glasses and five 
hundred and forty-five pounds’ worth of other glass- 
ware were sent there. In 1811 New England absorbed 
67,792 drinking glasses and four hundred and thirty- 
six pounds’ worth of other glass. 

Up to 1822 quantities of glassware, thousands and 
thousands of pounds’ worth, were sent to this country, 
but after that date the amount declined. Mr. Westropp, 
speaking of the export trade, quotes letters showing 
that in 1819 many thousands of pounds’ worth of Irish 


[ 180 ] 





WATERFORD GLASS 


glass was sold in “Charlestown,” Philadelphia, New 
York, Halifax, Newfoundland and Quebec. 

There were manufactured at Waterford, baskets, but- 
ter coolers, cans, candlesticks, cruets, cream ewers, de- 
canters, dishes, egg cups, jelly glasses, mustards, pickle 
jars, salts, bowls of many kinds, smelling bottles, sugar 
basins, squares, tumblers, wines and rummers, celery 
glasses and jugs, in addition to immense numbers of 
drinking bottles and many kinds of lighting fixtures. 

One of the objects of the late eighteenth and early 
nineteenth centuries which is most frequently to be 
found is the decanter. They were kept with more care 
and not subjected to such rough usage as the domestic 
pieces and so escaped the breakage to which the latter 
are liable. These early decanters are most interesting. 

They come under the head of human documents, and 
they depict very clearly the manners and customs of 
the times. The necks are ringed, the bodies giobular, 
and the stoppers are often very decorative. But it is 
these rings which make the decanters interesting. 
There may be one, two or three of these rings, generally 
with spaces between, so that fingers which were none 
too steady could get a good grip and not drop the 
decanter. 

These rings were of different designs, plain rounded, 
cut in diamonds, triangular cut, square cut, feathered, 
double or triple. While the shapes of the bodies of 
the decanters varied somewhat as the years went by, 


[ 181 J 


OLD GLASS 


those of the early nineteenth century still maintained 
their ribbed necks. One of these decanters of Water- 
ford glass is shown in Figure 75. It is owned by the 
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and is the only 
specimen of old Irish glass which they own which they 
know definitely to be Waterford. It is marked ‘“Pen- 
rose’”’ on the base. 

There was much glass made to order at Waterford 
for the old Irish families.’ More pieces than were 
needed to fill an order were blown, so that it would be 
on hand to fill breakages or enlarge sets. That accounts 
for the fact that in England and in Ireland many pieces 
of this ancient glass are found entirely undecorated. 

While experts will not admit that Waterford glass 
had a bluish tint, it is true that they were constantly 
striving to improve the colour. In 1832 Elizabeth 
Walpole, one of the partners in the Waterford glass- 
works, says with reference to some glass she was send- 
ing over from Waterford for sale, that a glass mer- 
chant of Plymouth had told her that all the Irish glass 
he had ever seen was dark coloured, “but she told him 
she had sent for some Waterford glass so that he might 
see for himself.” This letter is quoted in Mr. Wes- 
tropp’s book, “Irish Glass.” 

There are certain characteristics which are found 
on Known Waterford glass, so that we think that at 
last we have something definite, when lo, the same thing 


turns up on some other factories’ work, which may be 
Figure 75, page I60. | 


{ 182 ] 





ODT Giz Asis 





Fig. 83. BOWL AND BASIN AND TUMBLER 
Fig. 85..- CORK: DECANTERS 


(See pages 198 and 200) 


(eroaet 





OLD GLASS 





Fig. 84. CORK DECANTER 
(See page 199) 


[ 184 ] 





OME IBY TO bvayers) 





Higms6..CUI GUASS,~CORK 


Fig 87. (CUT GLASS, CORK 
(See page 200) 


[ 185 ] 


OO De Ge Avoas 


NITGNd ‘SsvID 


dadTAnow 


"88 ‘SI 


(102 


abog aag) 





[ 186 ] 


OLD GLASS 


NITH NG 


"ISIIAIY 
‘LATAOD 


‘06 


SUT 


NITANG 


6 


LaTIOD 


68 


(£0¢ 2bn¢ 299) 
Sty 





Ero a) 








at 


OLD GLASS 


_THE METROPOLITAN AU eum 


OF ART 


THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM 
OF ART ‘ = OF ART 





Fig. 91. THREE WISTARBERG PITCHERS AND WISTARBERG VASE 
(See page 214) 


[ 188 ] 








OTD. GLASS 








8 N ——sTHE METROPOLITA MUSEUM | 
rere a 


Of ART 4922 | 


= 


oo hs (ME meTRORaLiTaR mUaEU i : 
SE d BF ake we fe 





Fig. 92, FOUR EXAMPLES OF DOUBLE-DIPPED GLASS 
(See page 215) 


[ 189 ] 


OULD. GEASS 


YWHHOLId OAAPTAVLSIM 


NMOUE 





NE a eet OR I cr ene a 
TIVd GNV IMOd YAINV ‘£6 “SI 


[ 190 ] 





WATERFORD GLASS 








marked. Many of the pictures which are used to illus- 
trate this chapter on Irish glass came from the Na- 
tional Museum, Dublin. All of them were labelled 
by the director himself. In Figure 76 two jugs are 
shown. They are labelled “probably Waterford, about 
1820-30.” Asa rule this old glass is very heavy, it had 
to be when the cutting was to be deep. The edges of 
the articles were seldom plain, but were scalloped, 
saw-toothed, either large or small, fan-shaped or cas- 
tellated. These jugs are most typical, the one on the 
right showing what is known as “lustre” cutting, that 
one on the left showing what we call “thumb-spots,” 
but what the Irish or English glass-worker called 
“printies.” This jug also has step cutting on the neck. 
But alas for calling the one with the lustre cutting 
definitely Waterford. In that device on the member- 
ship card of the Cork Glass Cutter’s Society already 
mentioned, there is used as the central decoration an 
exact replica of this jug. 

Mrs. Graydon Stannus in her book, “Old Irish 
Glass,” says that “much cutting on the glass ware was 
done outside the glass-houses by men who had cutting 
sheds in their own homes, which accounts for the in- 
dividuality of the work done.” | 

Figure 77, also labelled “probably Waterford, 1820- 
30,” shows an unusual plain edged piece. The bowl 
has a rayed cutting underneath the foot, a splendid fan- 


shaped edge and the strawberry cutting within the dia- 
Figures 76 and 77, pages 161 and 162. 


[191] 


OLD GLASS 


monds, so often confused with hob-nail. The celery 
glass is heavily cut, showing that it is of the later period, 
for the early specimens are so lightly cut that it is hardly 
more than heavy engraving. One of the examples in 
Figure 78 speaks for itself, a charming little scent bot- 
tle; and the toilet bottles show variations of popular 
diamond cutting. These are Waterford also, and like 
the scent bottles are of very clear white glass. 

The tumblers of the early nineteenth century had 
most generous proportions, like those of an earlier 
period, and the same decorations. In Figure 79 the 
smallest one on the left is marked “probably Water- 
ford,” and the other two “probably Cork.” But the 
swag and line cutting on the middle one was very much 
used at Waterford, and there are large services of glass 
held in both England and Ireland, known to have come 
from Waterford, which have exactly the same cutting. 

The decoration above the diamonds on the Water- 
ford tumbler is known as “blazes,” they may be slant- 
ing like these or straight up and down. I have a num- 
ber of tumblers, and smaller glasses for liquor, with 
flutes at the bottom and blazes above. They are the 
remnants of a set which have come to me by inheritance, 
and which I satisfy myself by calling Irish glass. 

In the Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia, are the 
interesting pieces shown in Figure 80. The director, 
Mr. Samuel Woodhouse, Jr., is rather inclined to fol- 
low the example of the director of the Dublin Museum, 


and call them “probably Waterford.” The tall glasses 
Figures 78, 79 and 80, pages 163 and 164. 


[ 192 } 





WATERFORD GLASS 





with domed foot and knopped stem are unusual, but 
stems like these are seen on many of the candle and 
taper sticks which were made in such quantities at 
Waterford. The decanter with its step and diamond 
cutting and ornamental stopper, combines two of the 
most popular Waterford decorations. Not only can- 
dlesticks, but wall-lights, candelabra and chandeliers 
were made both on private order and kept in stock for 
many years, at Waterford. 

Mrs. Stannus says in her book, “Old Irish Glass,” 
that a peculiarity of the Waterford glass drops was 
their oval shape. These drops appeared on many of 
the lighting fixtures which were made in infinite va- 
riety. They were for one candle or many, with drops 
or without, with arms or hand-bent branches, with stars 
or spear-heads or even crescents on top as ornaments. 
Some of the chandeliers were eight feet long and 
weighed over two hundred pounds, being formed on 
iron rods covered with silvered tubing. 

General Washington, always eager to adorn and 
beautify his home, had many of these beautiful light- 
ing fixtures. Besides those on exhibition at the Smith- 
sonian Museum, are others hanging on the walls at 
Mount Vernon. There must be others stowed away 
somewhere in this country. 

In handling this old glass it is remarkable to note 
how pieces which have come down in families as “sets” 
vary in colour. A pair of jugs, very beautifully cut — 
with diamond and step cutting, with a pinched lip and 


[ 193 J 





OLD GLASS 


rayed base, which belong to me, are absolutely dif- 
ferent in colour. One of them is steely blue but the 
other is quite yellowish. These heavy glass jugs had 
three or four cuts in the top of the handle to prevent 
the thumb from slipping, and the handles were very 
thick and solid, quite different from the handles of 
early American glass. 

On the eighteenth century Waterford glass very lit- 
tle engraving or gilding is found. The engraving was 
done by itinerant journeymen who went about the 
country carrying the little copper wheels which they 
used in this work, arranged in a small box, the motive 
power being supplied by a small boy who turned a 
handle which drove a shaft and two wheels which were 
inside the box.* 

The best gilding was done by a man named Grahl, 
about 1786, and it is said to have the merit of resisting 
wear, and cannot easily be scraped off. 

Mrs. Stannus, whose immense collection of Irish 
glass, particularly Waterford, has come to her through 
inheritance and by pati nt search, deplores the increas- 
ing number of fakes. These are not only modern but 
date back to those days when Irish glass became so much 
sought for domestic use. The modern reproductions 
come from France, Germany, Belgium and Holland, 
and some very recent ones from Bohemia. But these 
latter betray their origin by showing a pinkish tinge. 


*Stannus: “Old Irish Glass.” 


[ 194] 


DUBLIN AND CORK GLASS 
LASS-WORKS were early established in Dub- 


lin and glass-making became an important 
industry early in the eighteenth century. The 
name of the first manufacturer as given by Mr. 
Westropp was Captain Philip Roche, who established 
his glass-works about 1690, and carried on the business 
till 1713 when he died. The Fitzsimons family which 
was associated with him in the glass-works carried on 
the business till 1787, when the firm became bankrupt. 
This glass-house, known as the Round Glass House, 
was an important one. It advertised its wares freely, 
as may be seen from the following, taken from Faulk- 
ner’s Dublin Journal, January, 1752: 


“At the Round Glass House on George’s Hill, near Mary’s Lane, 
Dublin, are made and making all sorts of the newest fashioned 
drinking glasses, water bottles, claret and Burgundy ditto, decanters, 
jugs, water glasses with and without feet and saucers, plain, ribbed, 
and diamond moulded jelly glasses of all sorts and sizes, sillybub 
glasses, comfit and sweetmeat glasses, orange glasses, bells and 
shades, hall lanthorns for one to four candles, glass branches, cut 
and plain barrel lanthorns, globe lamps, etc., all in the most elegant 
and newest fashioned mounting now used in London; chamber 
ditto; all sorts of apothecaries’ bottles, spaecia glasses of all sizes, 
rounds, urinals, breast and sucking bottles, cupping glasses, funnels, 
etc. All sorts of tubes, globes, etc., for electrical experiments, 
weather glasses, receivers for air pumps, and all sorts of philo- 
sophical experiments. All sorts of cut and flowered glasses may be 
had of any kind to any pattern, viz: wine glasses with a vine border, 


[ 195 ] 





OLD GLASS 





toasts or any flourish whatsoever; beer ditto with the same, salts 
with or without feet, sweetmeat glasses and stands, cruits for silver 
and other frames all in squares and diamond cut, gardevins, tea 
cannisters, jars and beakers for mock china, mustard pots, crests 
and coats of arms, sweetmeat bowls and civers, etc. N. B. As no 
pains or expense have been spared by the proprietor to procure 
the best workmen and patterns from London, he hereby hopes 
(that as his is the only manufacture of glass in the Kingdom, and 
that he is determined by his own personal inspection and application 
to support it in the highest perfection) to deserve the encourage- 
ment and approbation of all who shall honour him with their 
commands, and further promises them the greatest satisfaction in 
regard to colour and workmanship, beside the advantage of pur- 
chasing the above at much cheaper rates from him than those 
imported from England or elsewhere to be sold. Constant attend- 
ance will be given from eight o’clock in the morning until 9 o’clock 
at night at the glass warehouse on George’s Hill.” 


There were a number of other glass-houses estab- 
lished in Dublin from time to time, the most important 
of which was that opened by Richard Williams and 
Co. in May, 1771. They advertised that they made 
“glass lustres, girandoles, chandeliers, candlesticks and 
candle moulds, pyramids, salvers, bowls, decanters, 
wafer dishes, drinking glasses and smelling bottles and 
every other article that can be made of flint glass, cut, 
engraved and plain.” They also made plate glass for 
looking-glasses, windows and coaches. Various mem- 
bers of the family carried on the business till June, 
1827, when the last member of the firm died. 

In Figure 81 is shown a claret jug, of either Dublin 
or Cork manufacture, and of the late eighteenth cen- 
tury period. It is decorated with strawberry diamond 


cutting separated with bars. There is also the 
Figure 81, page 165. 


. 196} 


a hl SE 
DUBLIN AND CORK GLASS 
SL a eae ae a 


favourite leaf design, and heavily domed foot. The 
turnover bowl with feet is an unusual specimen. It is 
called “Dublin or Cork” and is of late eighteenth cen- 
tury. The turnover is richly cut, and on the bowl itself 
is a band of printies, in oval form. 

In Figure 82 the piece on the right is “probably 
Cork,” and the one on the left “probably Dublin or 
Cork.” The one on the left is of peculiar interest to 
me. It is of the much desired boat shape, is lightly cut 
with the famous old leaf design of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, and has the cut base which is so much admired. 
The edge has a gracefully castellated scallop, and a 
heavy diamond cut on each side gives variety to the leaf 
design. I have one like it, an heirloom, which can be 
traced to the first quarter of the nineteenth century, but 
which probably is older. The other bowl with heavy 
turnover edge is of a shape made in every Irish glass- 
works. Indeed it has become the practise, in Great 
Britain at least, to call such Irish glass as cannot be 
distinguished as belonging to any particular glass-works 
as “Munster.” ‘This covers the output from Water- 
ford, Cork, and to a certain extent Belfast. It should 
include Dublin too, but it is sometimes claimed that old 
Dublin glass has an unmistakable tint, quite yellowish 
in tone, which Waterford and Cork never had. 

Irish glass is very tough, it sings with a clear note 
when struck, and Mrs. Stannus claims for it a softness 


to the touch entirely lacking in English glass of the 
Figure 82, page 166. 


[ 197] 





OLD GLASS 


same period. All glass of a good quality emits a clear 
note when struck, modern as well as ancient, so it does 
not seem that one can use this as a test of old glass. 

The presence of minute air bubbles is common, you 
will find them in many pieces, but they are far less ob- 
servable in the Irish glass than they are in the English 
glass, particularly of the same period. 

The last makers of flint glass in Ireland were the 
brothers Thomas and John Pugh. They established 
works in Dublin about 1852. Thomas and his son 
Richard took over the works in 1863, and after the 
death of his father, Richard carried on the business 
till 1895, when the manufacture of flint glass in Ireland 
ceased.* 

Besides the white flint glass they made quantities of 
coloured glass, amber, purple, blue and green. The 
bowl and basin and tumbler shown in Figure 83 are 
very heavy cut-glass pieces. The diamond cutting on 
bowl and basin is deep and the bars between wide and 
cut in flutes. The tumbler has both step cutting and 
panels, and is marked “probably Waterford, early 
nineteenth century.” ‘The bowl and basin are late 
eighteenth or early nineteenth century. 

The Cork Glass House had goods on sale in Feb- © 
ruary, 1785, and ten years later were advertising that 
they could fill all orders for flint glass with accuracy 
and despatch. Before the Cork Glass House finally 


*Westropp: “Irish Glass.” 
Figure 83, page 183. 





DUBLIN AND CORK GLASS 





ceased work in 1818, a new one called the Waterloo 
Glass House was opened. The proprietor evidently 
fancied starting off with a flourish, for he put the fol- 
lowing advertisement in the Overseer, a Cork weekly 
newspaper, on December 24, 1816: 


“Waterloo Glass House. By his forming the Waterloo Glass 
House Company, which is now at work, Mr. Daniel Foley is giving 
employment to more than one hundred persons. His workmen are 
well selected, from whose superior skill the most beautiful glass 
will shortly make its appearance to dazzle the eyes of the public, 
and to outshine that of any other competitor. He is to treat his 
men at Christmas with a whole roasted ox, and with everything 
adequate. They have a new band of music with glass instruments, 
bessons serpents, horns, trumpets, etc., and they will have a glass 
pleasure boat, a cot and a glass net, which when seen will astonish 
the world.” 


The Waterloo Glass Works ceased work in 1835, 
and all the fittings and materials were sold off, includ- 
ing a large quantity of richly cut glass, and the contents 
of a dwelling house, presumably that of the owner of 
the works. ' | 

The Terrace Glass Works was opened in 1818, but 
like all the other glass-works could not stand up against 
the taxes and other restrictions, and finally was closed 
in 1841. With this closing the making of glass ceased 
in Cork, having lasted nearly sixty years. Figure 84 
shows a moulded decanter. It is one of the few speci- 
mens which form an oasis of safety for the glass col- 
lector who wishes that other firms had pursued the same 


method. This decanter is marked on the base, “Cork 
Figure 84, page 184. 


[ 199] 





OLD GLASS 


Glass Co.” The two decanters in Figure 85 are also 
marked, the one with the stopper, “Waterloo Co. 
Cork,” and the other one, also marked on the base, 
“Cork Glass Co.” This latter one was made about 
1810, the other one about ten years later. 

Three cut-glass jugs are shown in Figure 86, all of 
which are probably Cork, early nineteenth century. 
The centre one is decorated with wide shallow dia- 
monds which are rather unusual, the diamond cutting 
on the jug to the right being a commoner size. There 
is step cutting on the neck and lip, and a pointed edge. 
The handle has a thumb-hold instead of the several 
small cuts which the glass-maker so often made use of. 
But it is not a pretty jug, heavy and clumsy, the upper 
part looking far too large for the body. The other 
two are more admirable in every way, the one on the 
left being an extremely popular pattern in both English 
and Irish glass-works. It was copied in moulded glass 
in America, and later in cut glass. | 

The effects of the excise law which taxed metal in 
uncut state is visible in the two pieces in Figure 87. 
The sweetmeat jar and stand and the celery glass are 
decorated to death, for only by excessive cutting so a 
high price could be asked was it possible for the glass- 
worker to make any profit. These pieces are ascribed 
to Cork and the early nineteenth century. It was not 
long after these were made that glass- making 3 in Ireland 


practically ceased. 
Figures 85, 86 and 87, pages 183 and 185. 


[ 200 ] 





DUBLIN AND CORK GLASS 





The old Irish cut-glass is so much in demand by col- 
lectors that the charm of moulded glass is practically 
overlooked. Decanters have already been shown, and 
in Figure 88 is a pair of moulded glass butter coolers. 
These are marked ‘Francis Collins, Dublin,” and were 
probably a late output of these works. 

Occasionally butter coolers, sugar basins and finger 
bowls are found of a wonderful shade of rich green 
glass. They are decorated with simple panels or flutes, 
the splendid colour being all that is necessary. 

After many of the Irish glass-works were closed, as 
in the case of those in England, the stranded glass- 
workers tried to eke out a living by making and selling 
small objects in glass. Sometimes these were freak 
things, toys and canes, but more often they were small 
drinking glasses or articles for domestic use. ‘The 
quality of the glass was poor, greenish in colour and 
filled with bubbles. 

Glass was also made in Newry, Ballycastle and Lon- 
donderry, but only in small quantities and for short 
periods of time. In his book on “Irish Glass” Mr. 
Westropp says he has been shown specimens said to 
have been made at Newry, but as there was nothing to 
prove it he let it go at that. Even less is known of 
what was made at Ballycastle and Londonderry, prob- 
ably only black bottles. 

From 1825 the glass trade in Ireland began to de- 


cline, and by 1845 most of the glass-houses had ceased 
Figure 88, page 186. 


[ 201 } 





OLD GLASS 


working and those that still remained open had greatly 
decreased their output. The fact that such quantities 
of Irish glass were sent to various sections of America 
has impressed experts in Europe. Mr. Westropp states 
that it is quite possible that there is more old Irish 
glass here than there is in Ireland. 

To bear out this contention Mr. Westropp quotes 
from the Custom House books which are preserved in 
the National Library of Ireland, regarding the glass 
sent to various places in this country. As early as 1781 
glass in quantity was exported from Ireland. In the 
year 1784 Cork and Dublin sent to Quebec, Pennsyl- 
vania, Newfoundland, the Barbadoes and Carolina, 
18,336 drinking glasses. 

In 1791, 64,348 drinking glasses were sent to New 
York, New England, Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, 
Maryland, Newfoundland and the Barbadoes, by 
Dublin, Waterford, Belfast, Cork, Londonderry and 
Newry. They also sent about twenty thousand vials, 
and what was more important still, they sent almost 
two thousand pounds’ worth of other glassware. This 
sum would cover a large amount of glass at the prices 
of those days. 

So it went on year after year; in 1802 Waterford 
sent to Pennsylvania and Virginia alone 130,740 drink- 
ing glasses. In fact it is perfectly amazing to realise 
what enormous quantities of this Irish glass which is 


[ 202 ] 





see ee 


DUBLIN AND CORK GLASS 





so eagerly sought came to this country. Surely it can- 
not all be broken! 

Between 1805 and 1812 hundreds of thousands of 
drinking glasses were sent to New York, New England 
and the Southern states from Waterford, Cork, Dublin 
and Belfast. After that date the number of drinking 
glasses declined, but the value of other glassware in- 
creased, so that in the next ten years more than one 
hundred and thirty-two thousand pounds’ worth of 
glassware other than drinking glasses and bottles were 
sent to America. 

With regard to the bluish tint which is so often 
ascribed to Waterford, both Mr. Westropp and Mrs. 
Stannus are agreed. He says: ‘I would wish now, 
once for all, to state that the glass made in Waterford 
has not the blue or dark tint always ascribed to it... . 
Dublin and especially Cork glass often has the blue 
or dark tint. I[ have never seen a marked Waterford 
piece with the blue tint.” | 

Too early dates are often ascribed to Irish glass, for 
Waterford, Cork, Belfast and some of the Dublin 
works only operated about twenty years of the 
eighteenth century, while the largest output was dur- 
ing the nineteenth century. 

The goblet shown in Figures 89 and 90 was made 
by the Pughs about 1870 for an Orange Lodge. It is 
said that they employed four Germans to do their en- 
graving. 

Figures 39 and 90, page 187. 


[ 203 } 





PART II 





i 


an 2 ’ 








Oi Diy Gels Atos 











STIEGEL, BUSWELL COLLECTION 





[ 208 | 


AMERICAN GLASS 


ITH the multiplication of articles to make 

the business of living easier, it is hard to 

realise how the first settlers in this country 
got along at all. To my mind one of the most wonder- 
ful things of all is the way the Pilgrim Mothers settled 
down to their work and apparently made no complaints. 
At least none have come down in the records which 
detail so many of the small happenings which befell 
the pioneers. 

The early drinking vessels must have been pewter, 
wood or leather mugs or jugs. They worried along 
somehow with these things till there were sales of fish 
and masts; till the apple orchards began to come in 
bearing, till the cattle increased, and they could draw 
breath from tilling the fields and fighting the Indians, 
and consider providing the comforts of a home. 

While Caspar Lehmann was experimenting in Bo- 
hemia, the New World was trying to establish a glass- 
works in the infant colony at Jamestown, Va.; 1607 is 
the date given for the erection of this first furnace, and 
bottles only were made, so these are the oldest branch 
of the industry in this country. 

In 1620 a subscription list was started in Jamestown 
to erect a factory for the manufacture of beads for trade 


[ 209 ] 





OLD GLASS 





with the Indians, and in 1621 the London Company 
sent Italian workmen to make them.* 

This plant, which was situated some distance from 
Jamestown, escaped the massacre of 1622, and is heard 
of as late as 1623. 

No further attempt was made in Virginia, appar- 
ently. But the need was urgent. When glass-making 
was seriously attempted in America has not been defi- 
nitely settled. All authorities agree, however, that 
Salem, Massachusetts, was early in the field. Weeden, 
in his “Economic History of New England,” says these 
glass-works were opened in 1638. 

This business at Salem grew beyond its original ca- 
pacity, and the court gave official sanction to the in- 
dustry by ordering a loan. In 1640 Salem was author- 
ised to lend the glass men thirty pounds and deduct it 
from the next rate laid on the town. These works were 
operated with more or less success for more than thirty 
years, and were finally closed in 1670 for “lack of 
capital.” 

Jan Smeedes in 1654 and Evert Duyckingk in 1655 
were glass-making rivals in New Amsterdam, in what 
was originally called “Glass-Maker’s Street,” but is 
now known as William Street, New York. But what 
these rival glass-makers did at their glass-houses can- 
not be set down. Perhaps they found the barter of pelts 


*Records of the Virginia Company in London. 


f 210} 





AMERICAN GLASS 


or schnapps more profitable. At any rate no more is 
heard of their efforts. 

Though mention of glass-making is made in Pennsyl- 
vania, in a letter written by William Penn in 1683, 
he does not state where. 

Window glass, which we use so freely to-day that 
we hardly think about it, was one of the acute needs 
of the early colonists. In Virginia where there were 
earliest any houses which made any pretensions to com- 
fort, there were few which had glass in the windows. 
Oiled paper and sliding wooden panels were the usual 
substitutes. In June, 1684, Colonel William Byrd, one 
of the original F. F. V.’s, sent to his agent in London 
for 400 feet of glass with drawn lead and solder in 
proportion. This glass was for use in his first house, 
Belvidere, for he did not begin the building of the 
famous Westover till 1688. 

At these early glass factories in America where win- 
dow glass was the chief product, there were almost 
always some bottles blown for the use of the workers 
if not for sale. The corner pots where odds and ends 
of metal were thrown, provided the material, and the 
rule was general that the glass-workers could use it 
free of charge. Quantities of specimens which their 
owners assign to definite factories were no doubt made 
at some of these glass-works where the regular product 
was window glass or common glass bottles, and the 


[ 2rr J 





OLD GLASS 


workmen used their privilege and made for their own 
use or for sale such pieces as pleased their fancy. 

Like their European brothers in the trade, the glass- 
workers were a roving lot, travelling from one place 
to another, carrying their technique with them, and 
copying patterns that they were familiar with and 
liked. They were of many nationalities, so that it is no 
wonder that early American glass follows closely what 
was current at the same time in Europe. 


[ 212] 


WISTARBERG GLASS 


N 1739, Caspar Wistar, a Philadelphia merchant 
whose original business was making brass buttons, 
turned his attention to glass-making and began to 

construct a plant in Salem County, New Jersey, which 
was afterward known as Wistarberg, and sometimes as 
Allowaystown. 

Frederick W. Hunter states in his book, “Stiegel 
Glass,” that this glass-works of Wistar’s was the first 
successful glass industry in America. 

Caspar Wistar landed in Philadelphia in 1717, 
twenty-one years old, with not much money, but a 
capacity for making it in whatever enterprise he at- 
tempted. Wistar imported from Holland glass-makers 
to work in his factory, and the Dutch influence is 
clearly discernible not only in the early output, but in 
the later work. These Dutch artisans were contracted 
to teach the art of glass-making to Caspar Wistar and 
his son Richard, and to no one else. The factory began 
operations late in 1739. 

They made window glass in five sizes, many kinds 
of bottles, lamp chimneys, snuff and mustard bottles, 
“electrofying globes and tubes,” bowls, dishes, pitchers, 
canisters, preserve jars, sweetmeat bottles and drink- 
ing glasses. The first output was of plain glass, chiefly 


f 213 ] 





OT Di Ass 's 





window glass and bottles, but later they excelled in 
making many objects of great beauty both as to form 
and colour. In Figure 91 are shown three pitchers and 
a vase of Wistarberg make. They display the char- 
acteristic two-coloured work in which this factory 
excelled, the darkest pitcher of all being extremely 
brilliant, with a ruby ground and pale green wavings. 
The one with the pinched base is perhaps the earliest 
though it may have been just the fancy of the individual 
workman. This group is at the Metropolitan Museum 
of Art, New York. 

Mr. Hunter gives to Wistar the credit of being the 
first maker of flint glass in this country, and also gives 
him the precedence over all other manufacturers for 
using both clear and coloured glass in one object, some- 
times indeed two or three in whorled and artistic 
patterns. 

The dark blue glass which may or may not be at- 
tractive to the eye, owing to the richness of shade, was 
made at Wistarberg in small quantities only. They 
used instead a lighter, more delicate shade, turquoise 
almost, from which were fashioned many lovely ob- 
jects. They made opalescent glass, clear green, very 
beautiful in all its shades, amber, and rarest of all 
brown. To my taste the most exquisite of their output 
is a soft shade of yellow with shifting turquoise lights 
in it, and used only for delicate and dainty objects. 


There is a scent bottle of it at the Smithsonian Museum 
Figure ol, page 188. 


Lata) 





WISTARBERG GLASS 





which belonged to Martha Washington. I have re- 
cently seen a similar one on sale, and Leslie Buswell’s 
splendid collection of American glass at Gloucester, 
Massachusetts, is rich in it. 

The method of making the two-coloured, or double- 
dipped, glass was as follows: A partially completed 
object of one colour was decorated with whorls or lines 
of another in floral designs or the effects of breaking 
waves, the same pattern being carried out on the covers 
to match. Four examples of this decorative treatment 
are shown in Figure 92. They are at the Metropolitan 
Museum. 

Bowls of many sizes, and bottles, some of these latter 
with handles, were put out in large numbers by the 
Wistarberg factory. Much of this product was in the 
favourite green glass, sometimes very charmingly | 
whorled with white, not so delicate but in the same 
style as Nailsea glass. 

At Wistarberg they had a way of blowing balls of 
glass, matching and to be used as covers for their bowls 
and pitchers. The anti-germ idea was struggling for 
birth even then. These balls ranged in size from those 
a foot in diameter made to cover large bowls, to those 
scarcely larger than marbles to fit the tiny creamers. 
Figure 93 shows such a bowl and ball, in amber glass. 

What is probably the choicest piece of Wistarberg 
now extant is shown in Figure 94. It is a dark amber, 


rarest of all Wistarberg colours, with lily-pad design 
Figures 92, 93 and 94, pages 189 and 190. 


[ 215 ] 





OLD GLASS 





and spiral glass thread around the flaring neck. It is 
nine inches high, six inches in diameter, and was bought 
at the Herbert Lawton sale in 1923 by Mr. Buswell. 

One of the prettiest little things which came from 
the Wistarberg works was the scent bottle, which was 
made in greatest variety of shape and colour. Some 
were small enough to slip into a glove, and no doubt 
took the place of the apple stuck full of cloves which 
Colonial belles were used to carry. These bottles are 
made in clear or coloured glass, or in combinations of 
two or three colours, in various shapes, the oddest being 
the “‘sea horse” pattern shown in Figure 95. Some of 
the bottles are decorated with strips of crimped glass 
on the sides, others are in plain flask shape, but all are 
very dainty and desirable. 

There is a constantly growing market for these pieces, 
and their admirers are many. While not so much in 
demand as the Stiegel glass there are plenty of collec- 
tors who pick up when possible these charming bits of 
artistic worth. 

While it is true that the Wistarberg glass-works were 
in operation from 1759 to 1780, and put out large quan- 
tities of glass, it is also true that there were other glass- 
works in operation in that neighbourhood, but the fac- 
tories were small and the output inconsiderable. 

The Wistarberg works made much useful ware, like 
the mortar and pestle in clear and amber glass, shown 


in Figure 96, or the sweetmeat jar in Figure 97. The 
Figures 95, 96 and 97, page 225. 


[ 216] 





WISTARBERG GLASS 





green and amber cup, Figure 98, and the pale green 
candlestick in Figure 99, and the sturdy pitcher in 
Figure 100 are all pieces of interest and beauty. These 
are at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 

In 1775 a factory was started at what is now known 
as Glassboro, by two of Wistar’s workmen. Indeed 
this factory is still in operation under the name of the 
Whitney Glass Works, Glassboro, New Jersey. 

While the general appearance of this Jersey glass has 
a strong family resemblance, such pieces as those shown 
in Figures 101, 102, 103 are without doubt from Wis- 
tarberg alone. Up to nearly the middle of the nine- 
teenth century small factories for glass-making 
were started up in this neighbourhood and along the 
Mullica River. None of them were in operation very 
long, nor is the product easily distinguishable from 
that made in the neighbourhood. 

Like the workmen in the great English potteries, 
they did not seem to strike roots, but wandered about 
from one glass-works to another as fancy dictated. 
What made the output from these factories still more 
similar is the fact that most of the factories were started 
and carried on by men trained in the Wistarberg works, 
or their descendants. 

J. B. Kerfoot, writing a note upon this South Jersey 
glass, says: ‘Again and again, as a matter of proved 
and indisputable fact, three generations of these work- 


men continued for more than a hundred years to make 
Figures 98, 99, 100, oI, 102 and 103, pages 225, 226 and 227. 


[ 217 ] 


ae 


OLD GLASS 


i 


for themselves and their friends the same range of 
pieces, unaltered in form and indistinguishable in tech- 
nique. So that, so far as concerns these wholly true- 
to-tradition specimens, the attempt to differentiate be- 
tween ‘true Wistarberg’ and South Jersey pieces is ut- 
terly futile and meaningless.” 

By 1850 a change of style seems to have taken place. 
The old forms vanished, new ideas with reference to 
colouring and decoration were put into practise and 
the charm of the earlier ware was lost, but Caspar 
Wistar’s influence had lasted more than a century. At 
his death in 1752 he left the glass-works, its contents, 
etc., to his son Richard. The latter never lived at Wis- 
tarberg, but employed a manager, Benjamin Thomp- 
son, to run the works. They were carried on till about 
1780, when the effects of the Revolution crippled all 
business. A hundred years later only a log house and 
a splendid sycamore-tree marked where once a flour- 
ishing factory stood by the side of the road. 

No collector thinks his collection complete without 
one of the fine squat schnapp, gin or whiskey bottles 
which were made in such quantities at this time. The 
one shown in Figure 104 ina rich green, which is an un- 
usual colour for these bottles, and adds to its beauty. 
They are commonly found in amber or a greenish 
brown. 

One of the dainty little scent bottles which occasion- 


ally come to hand is given in Figure 105. I have one 
Figures 10g and 105, page 228. 


[ 218 ] 





WISTARBERG GLASS 





not so attractive in shape, but of a wonderful shade of 
dark blue. 

Glass-works were opened at Millville, New Jersey, 
about 1820, and they turned out a great variety of ob- 
jects. There were chains of glass, generally clear, glass 
lilies, paper-weights and glass balls to cover bowls and 
pitchers, Figure 106, though now they are generally 
called witch balls after the English style, and were said 
to have been made to hang in the window to ward off 
witches. They were often of great beauty, like the one 
shown in Figure 107 which is pink and white on a clear 
glass stand. This belongs to the Buswell collection. 


Figures 106 and 107, pages 228 and 229. 


[ 219 ] 


STIEGEL GLASS 


HE story of the work of the early American 
glass-makers is still much fogged, except that 


of William Henry Stiegel which has been so 
exhaustively covered by the late Frederick William 
Hunter. His book, “Stiegel Glass,” is inaccessible to 
most people, since an edition of 420 copies only was 
privately published, and the cost of such stray copies 
as come into the market is quite prohibitive. 

In the preparation of his volume Mr. Hunter spared 
neither time, money nor himself, and the result is that 
the history of William Henry Stiegel has been traced 
from the time of his landing on these shores, August 
31, 1750, at Philadelphia, to the date of his death at 
Charming Forge, January 10, 1785. 

Briefly stated, William Henry Stiegel arrived in 
Philadelphia in 1750, at the age of twenty-one. On No- 
vember 7, 1752, he married Elizabeth Huber, daughter 
of Jacob Huber, owner and operator of large iron fur- 
naces in Lancaster County. 

On September 22, 1756, with some men from Phila- 
delphia he began the operation of the Huber iron fur- 
nace in Elizabeth township, Lancaster County, and 
here in 1763 he began experimenting with glass-mak- 
ing. He built two glass-houses at Manheim; the first 


[ 220 | 





STIEGEL GLASS 





one had the fire lighted under the pots on October 29, 
1765. The output was chiefly bottles, ranging in size 
from a gallon to a pint; the smaller sizes were known 
as ““pocket bottles’’—see Figures 108 and 109. In Fig- 
ure 110 are some very choice blue and amethyst bottles 
which belong to the Buswell collection. In addition 
to the bottles there were other articles listed under the 
head of “small glass’—see Figures 111, 112, 113, the 
latter a green glass milk bowl with blue rim, in the 
Buswell collection. On December 18, 1770, fire was 
lighted under the ovens of the second glass-house at 
Manheim, and glass of many kinds was made. In 
February, 1774, the sheriff sold the Manheim glass- 
houses and Stiegel’s career as a business man was closed. 
So he was making glass just about ten years, a fact to 
be remembered by glass collectors. 

Mr. Hunter was extremely fortunate in finding 
among the papers of John Dickinson, now in posses- 
sion of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, a series of 
day books, journals and ledgers, relating to Elizabeth 
Furnace, Charming Forge and Manheim works. From 
these he was able to reconstruct the life story of Wil- 
liam Henry Stiegel, which ended at the last in misery 
and wretchedness. 

Although glass was made first at Elizabeth Furnace, 
Charming Forge was used only for the manufacture 
of bar iron and earned much of the money which was 
later used at Manheim. The first glass-house at Man- 


Figures 108, 109, I10, III, 112 and 11}, pages 230,231 and 232. 


[ 221 | 


EL ————eee__eee_ee 


OLD GLASS 


i 


heim began work with about half a dozen blowers, and 
the product was sold to merchants in nearby towns. 

The stamp act of 1765 had a depressing effect upon 
the business of the Colonies, and though it was repealed 
the next year, the Townshend act of 1767 levying duties 
on Colonial imports, bore heavily on crown plate, flint 
and white glass. But to Stiegel’s mind this duty on 
imports should prove of great benefit to the industries 
of America. 

An advertisement to this effect printed in the Penn- 
sylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser, July and 
August, 1769, shows his attempts to call the attention 
of the public to his wares. A beautiful arrangement of 
Stiegel glass, all clear, is shown in Figure 114. It is 
a part of Mr. Buswell’s collection, all of which is ar- 
ranged as a decoration to the rooms in which it is 
placed, rather than as a mere collection. 

The variety of goods which Stiegel made may be 
judged from the following advertisements which ap- 
peared in the Pennsylvania Gazette, for June 27, 1770) 
and June 4, 1772. They are in the files of the Pennsyl- 
vania Historical Society, at Philadelphia. 


STIEGEL GLASS 


This is to acquaint the public, and my kind customers in particular, 

I have lately been at the Glass Factory at Manheim, in Lancaster 

County, and contracted with Mr. William Henry Stiegel for a large 

and complete assortment of his Flint Glass, consisting of quart, 

pint, and half-pint decanters; pint, half-pint, gill and half-gill 

tumblers; wine glasses; vinegar glasses; salt-cellars; cream-pots; 
Figure 114, page 233. 


[ 222 ] 





STIEGEL GLASS 





sugar dishes with covers; jelly glasses; syllabub glasses; proof 
bottles; etc., etc.; to be delivered to me immediately at my house 
in Market Street, next door to the Indian King, where I will sell 
them as low or lower, and equal in quality with my flint glass 
imported from England. Any orders shall be punctually complied 
with, and be quickly forwarded, and will be exactly furnished from 
the Manufactory. 

Wanted. A Glass-Cutter and Grinder; such a workman by 
applying will meet with good encouragement. 

ALEXANDER BARTRAM. 


Figure 115 from the Buswell collection and Figure 
116 from the Metropolitan Museum, New York, show 
some of the kinds of glass which Mr. Bartram could 
furnish to his kind customers. 

The following advertisement is even fuller in nam- 
ing the different objects in glass which were being 
made at the Manheim works. 


STIEGEL GLASS 
Caullman & Fegan 


To be sold, AMERICAN FLINT GLAss, greatly improved, and al- 
lowed by competent judges to be equal to the most improved from 
England, is now to be sold wholesale and retail, at the American 
Flint Glass store in Second Street, fifth door above Race Street, 
by Caullman & Fegan, where they have just opened a large and 
general assortment of the Manufactory, viz. 

Double and single flint gallon, three quart, half gallon, and 
single quart decanters with stoppers; sugar loaf ditto; round ditto; 
single and double flint tumblers, pint measure, half pint ditto, and 
gills; tall pint tumblers, pints and half pints; enamelled mason 
wines; enamelled twisted mason wines; plain ditto, common wines; 
twisted ditto, enamelled ditto; syllabubs, with one handle, ditto 
with two handles; bubbled buttoned jellies; common acorn ditto; 
jacony salts, and enamelled ditto; double and single cruets with 
stoppers; tall, twisted and enamelled cruets; enamelled three footed 
creams, common ditto; three footed salts, enamelled blue and plain; 

Figures 115, 116 and 117, pages 234, 235 and 236. 


[ 223 ] 


LL ———————e—e————e—e—e—e——————— 


OLD GLASS 





inks of all sorts; and flower pots; garden pots; proof glasses; 
lemonade jars; candle-sticks, ornamented; servers, ornamented ; 
common and enamelled mustards; vinegar and oil cruets, joined 
together; and great variety of glasses, too tedious to insert. 

The public may rest assured that no other kind of glass will be 
kept, or sold in said store. From the great experience that the 
proprietor of this manufactory, Mr. William Henry Stiegel, has of 
the patriotic spirit of the Gentlemen in Pennsylvania, and the 
provinces adjacent, he flatters himself that it will meet with suitable 
encouragement. All orders of patrons sent to the store, shall be 
accurately forwarded and complied with, at the Manufactory, or at 
the Store, from time to time. All Store-keepers, Tavern-keepers, 
and Retailers, will be completely supplied to orders, lower than 
importation price. 


That Stiegel possessed an optimistic disposition the 
financial records of his various business difficulties 
plainly show. He plunged into debt and yet more 
debt, and mortgaged everything available. He built 
himself a fine mansion at Manheim, and two tall tow- 
ers, one at Elizabeth Furnace, another at Schaeffers- 
town, on which cannon were placed. A third can- 
non graced the band platform on the top of the house 
at Manheim. His goings and comings were announced 
to the village by the cannon reports, and his coach, in 
which he rode from one place to another, served to 
accentuate his love of show, and no doubt had much 
to do with giving him his courtesy title of Baron. 

He began at this time to advertise freely not only in 
the Philadelphia papers but in the New York Gazette 
and Mercury. On July 1, 1772, he adopted the name 
“The American Flint Glass Factory,” and this, accord- 
ing to all records, was his most prosperous year. 


l 224 } 


rr SSS 


OLD-GLASS 


eee: 





. x Suess & “ i 
THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM | THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM | 
AR « § ii at Rene 


ER RE 


Fig. 97, SWEETMEAT JAR Fig. 96. MORTAR AND PESTLE 
Fig. 99, PALE GREEN CANDLESTICK 


Fig. 95. SCENT BOTTLE Fig. 98. GREEN AND 
AMBER CUP 
(See pages 216 and 217) 


{225 | 


Fig. 101. 


OLD.GLASS 


THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM 
ae er 








Fig. 100. GROUP OF WISTARBERG 


SOUTH JERSEY Fig. 


PITCHER 


(See page 217) 


F-22060" 


102. SOUTH JERSEY 
BOWL, BLUE 





ODF G UAS S 





Fig. 103, SOUTH JERSEY VASES AND BOWL 
(See page 217) 





OLD GLASS 


THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM 
OF ABT 





Fig. 104. SOUTH JERSEY BOTTLE, GREEN 


Fig. 105. SOUTH JERSEY SCENT Fig. 106. MILVILLE, N. J., GLASS 
BOTTLE BALL 


(See pages 218 and 219) 
f 228 | 





Og G Aas 





Fig. 107, GLASS BALL, BUSWELL COLLECTION 
(See page 219) 


[ 229 ] 





OLD.-GLASS 


THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM 
QF ART 





Fig. 108. STIEGEL POCKET BOTTLES, AMETHYST 


Fig. 109. STIEGEL POCKET BOTTLES 
(See page 221) 


[ 230 | 





OD] GLASS 





Fig. 110, BLUE AND AMETHYST BOTTLES 
Fig. 111, STIEGEL BOWL_ 


Peeeupage 221) cm ote 


[ 231 | 





OLDi'GLASS 





Fig. 112, STIEGEL BOWL WITH BLUE RIM — 


Fig. 113, STIEGEL JAR 
(See page 221) 


[72823 


OLUD..GLASS 





CLEAR GLASS, STIEGEL 


114. 


ige 


F 


(See pagé 222) 


L233] 


OLD GLASS 


SLOd WVadadO 


LNITA FATE ANOA 


"SIL “31g 


(ez abvg 3a) 





[234 ] 








OLD ,GLASS5 


aisle 
PER METER, 
Bee 





Fig. 116. FOUR BLUE AND CLEAR GLASS CREAM POTS 
(See page 223) 


[ 235 ] 


OLDE GLASS 


LOd WV ANV YAMA 


“LIT “OUT 


waase 


Sse 
W NMS ete lt Iw ahs 
ei cs 


(¢¢z abvg aag) 





[ 236 ] 





OeEsDELG PASS 


“ANE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM 
"OF ART 


METROPOLITAN MUSEUM 
BE RET 





Fig. 118, BLUE FLINT SALT-CELLARS 
(See page 241) 


[ 237] 


OLD GLASS 


SUYVTIHO-LIVS SSVIO NAAYD GNV AVATO 





"6IT “SI 


(1tz 26n¢ 329) 





J 


[ 238 


QEDIGLIASS 


i 
> 
: 
* 
a 
3 





VINEGAR AND MUSTARD CRUETS 


Fig. 120. 


(See page 241) 








OLDEAGLASS 





Fig. 121... BLUE FLINT SUGAR BOWLS 
Fig. 122. CLEAR GLASS SUGAR BOWL 
(See page 242) 


[ 240 ] 





STIEGEL GLASS 





Among the “small glass” produced by Stiegel, his 
salts were particularly attractive. There were many 
shapes, and the blue flint ones, often in his best shade 
of blue, are more esteemed to-day than when he made 
them. Some of these in both blue and clear glass are 
shown in Figures 118 and 119. 

Stiegel’s glass was on sale at the store of Garret 
Rapelje, opposite the Fly Market in New York, and 
the venture must have been successful, since in Janu- 
ary, 1773, he went to New York, rented a store on 
Broad Street, and advertised as follows in the New 
York Journal or General Advertiser, for January 14, 
and several weeks following: 


AMERICAN FLINT GLASS 
William Henry Stiegel 


Proprietor of the first American flint-glass manufactory in Penn- 
sylvania, is just arrived in this city, and opened a warehouse near 
the Exchange, the corner opposite Mr. Waldron’s, where he hopes 
for the encouragement of those who wish well to the establishment 
of manufacturers on this continent; and that the glass he offers 
to the public will be found to rival that which is imported, and sold 
at lower prices. 

Quart, pint and half-pint decanters; pint crofts; double flint pint, 
half pint and jill tumblers; syllabub and jelly glasses; three-feeted 
salts and creams; wine and water glasses; vinegar and mustard 
cruets; phials and other bottles for Chymists and Apothecaries, etc. 

As his stay in town will be very short, he begs the favor of an 
early application to him from those who want a supply of glassware. 


Vinegar and mustard cruets are mentioned in this 
advertisement. Some are shown in Figure 120. The 


variety in sugar bowls is almost as great as in salts. A 
Figures 118, 119 and 120, pages 237, 238 and 239. 


[ 241 ] 


(rene ——EeeEEEEeEE————————e 


OLD GLASS 





number of these are shown in Figures 121, 122, 123, 
yor 

Stiegel did not retain the special warehouse very 
long, and is next heard of advertising from a new 
stand, in the months of February and March, 1773, in 
the New York Gazette and Weekly Mercury. James 
and Arthur Jarvis became his New York agents, and 
advertised on sale at their shop “between Burling and 
Beekman’s Slip, in the Fly,” an even greater assort- 
ment of goods than appeared in Stiegel’s own adver- 
tisement. They had “of the American manufacture, 
quart, pint, and half pint decanters; pint, half pint, gill 
and half gill, flint and common tumblers; carrofts, 
enamel’d; mason, and common wine glasses; jelly and 
cillabub glasses, with and without handles; mustard and 
cream pots, flint and common; salts, salt-linings, and 
crewets; wide-mouthed bottles for sweetmeats, rounds 
and phyals for doctors, wine and water glasses, ink and 
pocket bottles. Orders taken for all kinds of glasses 
for chymical or other uses agreeable to order.” 

But with all his efforts and ceaseless activity things 
did not go well with William Henry Stiegel. His busi- 
ness affairs went from bad to worse, though in 1773-74 
he organised lotteries to bolster up his fortunes. His 
credit was exhausted, the sheriff levied on his house- 
hold goods, and finally in February, 1774, Manheim, 
the glass-house on which he had staked his all, was 
sold by the sheriff to George Ege, a nephew of Mrs. 


Figures 121, 122, 123 and 124, pages 240,257 and 258. 


[ 2422 


a a Ee ae a ee 
STIEGEL GLASS 





Stiegel. Ege soon became possessed of the entire prop- 
erty, built himself a fine house where later he took in 
and cared for Stiegel who had become an absolute 
bankrupt. 

Indeed, for a few weeks he was imprisoned for debt, 
being liberated on Christmas day, 1774. This was a 
terrible blow for a man of Stiegel’s temperament and 
position. The last years of this one-time prosperous 
and successful man were melancholy indeed. He was 
but fifty-six when he died, in January, 178s, and since 
his failure had eked out a poverty-stricken existence by 
teaching, giving music lessons, or giving any service 
which those living in that region might require. 

In the heyday of Stiegel’s prosperity he had deeded 
one of his Manheim lots, with a small church which 
he had built upon it and called the Zion Lutheran 
Church, to its board of trustees. It was quite a custom 
at this time when property was sold for a nominal cash 
consideration, to add also a nominal annual rent. Mr. 
Hunter says in “Stiegel Glass” that a peppercorn or a 
grain of wheat were favourite considerations. A red 
rose, which was the fee chosen by Stiegel, was, curi- 
ously enough, chosen also by Caspar Wistar to be paid 
in lieu of ground rent in many of his deeds. But the 
Wistar rose rent has faded into obscurity, while the 
red rose demanded by the Stiegel deed has blossomed 
into a ceremony which is observed the second Sunday 
in June at Manheim, which in its elaboration and pic- 


[ 243 ] 





OLD GLASS 





turesqueness would have given William Henry Stiegei 
abundant satisfaction. They call it the “Feast of the 
Roses,”’ and for one day in the year Manheim emerges 
from the obscurity which enwraps it the other 364. 

The collection of Stiegel which was gathered by Mr. 
Hunter and presented by him to the Metropolitan 
Museum, New York, covers the ground pretty thor- 
oughly. It is so arranged that it can be conveniently 
studied by those who wish to add to their knowledge 
of this interesting and beautiful glass. 

The illustrations given here are chiefly from this 
collection and that of Leslie Buswell at Gloucester, 
Massachusetts. In the Buswell collection are some 
pieces which are absolutely unique, like the splendid 
Stiegel cup which is the frontispiece of this book, and 
the large covered pitcher shown in Figure 134. 

The first impression of the collection at the Metro- 
politan Museum, as a whole, is the comparatively small 
size of the objects. The pitchers are smaller than those 
we use at the present day, and few of them are as much 
as twelve inches tall. They have a certain fragility 
and delicacy which certainly would not stand the rough 
and tumble life of a modern dish-washer, human or 
mechanical. 

A great number of the coloured pieces in the Hunter 
collection are blue, that splendid shade derived from 
the Bristol workmen who came here to make glass and 


teach the local workers the tricks of the trade. I have 
Figure 134, page 267. 


[ 244 ] 





STIEGEL GLASS 





mentioned elsewhere what Mr. Hunter calls the “Bris- 
tol tradition” with reference to the colouring of Stiegel 
glass. But an acquaintance with Stiegel glass very soon 
teaches you that it is quite impossible to lay down rules 
as to what is “Stiegel blue.” You can see for yourself 
in the Hunter or any other collection of Stiegel glass 
any number of shades in his blue flint, some of them 
rarely beautiful, some of them flat and verging on the 
indigo. 

This variance of shade is nowhere more distinguish- 
able than in the salt-cellars, many of which are besides 
delightfully crooked, one of the charms of hand-work. 

Drinking glasses in numberless patterns and decora- 
tions were turned out at Manheim. The covered rum- 
mer in Figure 125 is an interesting piece, not only on 
account of the cover, but because of the panels of the 
glass itself. These panels are more often found on 
flip glasses and tumblers, and may be of equal size or 
alternating long and short. In the group of wine 
glasses shown in Figure 126 the one with the cotton 
twist stem is the most interesting. Both drawn and 
stuck stems were made at the Manheim works, and the 
method employed was the same as that in use at the 
English glass-works. 

The next group is more decorative, Figure 127. 
These bowls are pattern moulded, and then expanded 
by blowing, or twisted by rolling on the arms of the 


glass-blower’s chair, or by pinching with pucellas, as 
Figures 125, 126 and 127, pages 258, 259 and 260. 


[ 245 ] 





OLD GLASS 


in the diamond pattern. As a rule domestic wine glass 
feet are flatter than those of English make, and are 
more solid, and the edge of the foot is turned down and 
in, rather than up and over which is characteristic of 
English glasses. 

Engraved glass made at the Stiegel works was done 
with the copper wheel and diamond method. Mr. 
Hunter distinguished fourteen types of design which 
were in use. The wine glasses in Figure 128 show 
four of these. 

The flip glasses beloved of the deep drinker, and 
much sought by the modern collector, are generally 
very beautiful. The basket design holding flowers, 
and the tulip design, were most characteristically 
Dutch, copied from them by the English and then 
copied from both of them, over here. Four of these 
Stiegel engraved flips are shown in Figure 129. They 
are extremely attractive, the one with the panels in 
three lengths being particularly so. They seem too 
delicate to stand the hard usage to which flip glasses 
as a rule were subjected. Figure 130 shows some un- 
usually fine engraved glasses, from the Buswell 
collection. 

A charming pair of engraved jelly glasses is shown 
in Figure 131. They are rather tiny affairs, one and 
seven-eighths inches high, and three and a quarter inches 


in diameter. There is that pleasing irregularity in the 
Figures 128, 129,130 and 131, pages 261, 262, 263 and 264. 


[ 246] 


8 cha So eS ae 
STIEGEL GLASS 





engraving which is indicative of hand-work, and the 
handles are similar but not identically alike. 

It is not wonderful that with time and use, covers 
have parted company from the vessels they were made 
to go with. This group of covered flips, Figure 132, 
which belong to the Buswell collection are then all 
the more remarkable, and the one in the centre is the 
largest one known. 

Stiegel made two shades of green; one, fine and clear 
and very brilliant, is seldom met with, while the other 
shade, far less attractive and quite pale, is more com- 
mon. It depresses me to write about this pale green 
glass, for I lost a covered sugar bowl by hesitating over 
night to pay the price. There seems to be always 
somebody waiting to “snap up” these things, and she 
was on the spot while I was considering. 

I have seen many pieces, particularly salt-cellars, in 
what might be called a smoky green. It looks as if 
they were made from odds and ends of metal from the 
corner pots, asno doubt they were. One such salt-cellar 
had several flecks of ruby red glass in it, not as decora- 
tion, but as part of the article itself. In fact this piece 
was given to me. I saw it at the house of a friend, 
tried to buy it from her, but she gave it to me saying, 
“You can have it, it only cost fifty cents, and I don’t 
pace for it.” 

If I had been as experienced in collecting old glass 


as I am now, I should have taken it then and there and 
Figure 132, page 265. 


[ 247] 





OLD GLASS 


borne it off in triumph. But I protested feebly at tak- 
ing it as a gift, and went home. The next time I saw 
her she spoke of it and said she would send it. Here 
again I made a mistake. I should have gone for it. 
She arrived one snowy day with a shapeless parcel 
done up in tissue-paper. ‘Here is your salt-cellar,” 
said she, “‘all that is left of it,’ and went on to say that 
she had given it to her chauffeur to deliver, but that as 
he had several other errands to do, somehow, in the 
course of his activities, he had sat upon it! There was 
nothing left but the base and stem, two or three bits, 
and some powdered glass. I tried later to impress the 
enormity of her carelessness upon her by showing her 
the record of an auction sale where a similar one had 
fetched $140. 

Next to blue, purple ranging from a very rich bluish 
tone to a reddish amethyst seems to have been a popu- 
lar product of the Stiegel factory. There was also 
amber, rarest of all, a warm tone and not very dark. 
Some of the very early bottles were in this warm brown. 
A very charming pocket flask with panels and daisy 
design is shown in Figure 133. 

The variety of styles embodied in the various kinds 
of glass made at the Manheim works was owing to the 
different nationalities of the men employed there, Eng- 
lish, Irish, German and Italian. At the new Manheim 
works nearly one hundred hands were employed and 


the choicest glass made. In addition to the moulded 
Figure 133, page 206. 


[ 248 ] 





STIEGEL GLASS 


wares, there was the enamelled in German style, with 
clearer, brighter colours, and there was the etched and 
engraved which is now so eagerly sought by collectors. 

Splendid pitchers with covers like the one shown in 
Figure 134 were occasionally made, either on order or 
for presentation pieces. This one belongs to the Bus- 
well collection. Candlesticks like Figure 135 were 
also made, and more rarely vases, like the one in blue 
flint, which is given in Figure 136. 

The struggle which Stiegel constantly maintained 
to produce goods as useful, beautiful and cheap as those 
which were constantly imported is more or less pa- 
thetic, when you consider his tragic end. Medicine 
glasses, Figure 137, egg cups, like the one in Figure 
138, pitchers and compotes, Figure 139, and small de- 
canters like the one given in Figure 140, were all parts 
of his regular output. 

Mugs both in clear and coloured glass, with or with- 
out covers, plain or decorated, were made in numbers, 
and some are shown in Figure 141, two of blue flint 
and two of clear glass. 

Of course the average collector can only hope to 
possess a few pieces of Stiegel glass. ‘They are the 
gems of any collection. Such a piece as the flip, seven 
and a half inches high, clear glass, with the daisy-in- 
the-square design, Figure 142, or the amethyst bottle 


shown in Figure 133, is always at the back of my mind. 
Figures 134-142, pages 267-271. 


[ 249 ] 


TLE 
OLD GLASS 
etre eee erase SE 


Some day I mean to own one or the other—my wildest 
dreams do not include both. 

Panel pieces like the bowl in Figure 143 and the 
rummer in Figure 144 show the use of the panel as a 
decoration for otherwise plain pieces. But the last 
and probably in Stiegel’s estimation the highest style 
of decoration attempted at the Manheim works was that 
in coloured enamels. The workmen who were em- 
ployed to do this class of decoration were four in num- 
ber, and the colours were fresher and brighter than 
the German colours, and the decoration was conse- 
quently more attractive. Mr. Hunter says six colours 
only were used. The two bottles in Figure 145 show 
how very effective this decoration may be. 

There were designs which were used over and over 
again, like the steeple, Figure 146, the bird design, 
Figure 147, or the equally popular dove design shown 
on the mug in Figure 148. Less attractive than much 
of Stiegel’s product, these too consciously follow for- 
eign models to please the taste of those who like original 
work, 

A cupboard of clear and coloured Stiegel glass which 
shows a portion of the Buswell collection is given in 
Figure 149. The pieces are charmingly arranged and 
are displayed against ground glass which is the true 
and proper background, particularly for coloured 


glass. 
Figures 143-149, pages 271, 272, 289 and 290. 


[ 250 ] 


OTHER EARLY GLASS 


‘ , YITHIN the last few years many collections 

of early American glass have been sold. 

Though the pickings for the would-be col- 

lector are not what they were, there are chances still 
left. 

In 1920 a collection made by Dr. Pleasant Hunter 
—what an ideal name for a collector—was sold at auc- 
tion. The objects embraced in this sale were made in 
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecti- 
cut and New Hampshire. In a prefatory note to the 
catalogue, Dr. Hunter states that he gathered this col- 
lection, 862 pieces, in five years. That in January, 
1913, and in November, 1915, he had disposed through 
the same hands of two previously made collections. 

Without doubt the finest collection of early Ameri- 
can glass which has ever been sold at auction was that 
gathered by Mr. Herbert Lawton of Boston, and sold 
in New York, February, 1923. Some of the choicest 
pieces of this collection are shown in this book through 
the courtesy of Mr. Buswell who bought them. 

There were three hundred and forty-nine pieces in 
the Lawton sale, comprising all the finest products of 
American glass-works, and showing an unusual num- 


[ 251 ] 





OLD GLASS 


ber of three-section mould pieces which are becoming 
increasingly interesting to the collector. 

In the making of glass the most important neces- 
sity is an abundance of fuel near at hand. Western 
Pennsylvania and the neighbourhood of Pittsburg fur- 
nished this in quantity. The use of coal, and later of 
gas, still caused this section of the country to become 
important as a glass-making centre. 

The first glass-works in Western Pennsylvania was 
started by Albert Gallatin in 1787, on the Mononga- 
hela River, about sixty miles above Pittsburg. In 1795 
the first factory was built in Pittsburg itself, and both 
of these works made window glass only. 

Mr. Isaac Craig, writing in 1880, says in his ‘‘Recol- 
lections” that the glass made at the early glass-houses 
was generally crude, and the “small wares” were made 
by the workmen from the corner pots. He writes, “I 
recollect distinctly seeing both tumblers and decanters 
made of green glass. In old times these decanters were 
used in every house, mostly by the poorer families who 
could not afford cut-glass. Whiskey was set out to 
every visitor in these decanters, and before and after 
every meal. Although of green glass they were not cut, 
but ornamented by beads around the neck.” 

O’Hara and Craig, General and Major in the Revo- 
lution, started in 1797 another plant on the Mononga- 
hela. Pittsburg has always retained its position in the 
glass-making industry, but it is within the last sixty 


[ 252] 





OTHER EARLY GLASS 





years that the most important developments have taken 
place in the methods of making it. 

The first glass factory to use coal was established at 
Pittsburg in 1797, but it was many years before it came 
into general use. Sand, one of the most important 
ingredients of glass, is found in abundance, and of 
superior quality, in America. Large deposits were 
found in Juniata County, Pennsylvania; Hancock 
County, West Virginia; Fox River, Illinois; Crystal 
City, Missouri; and Berkshire County, Massachusetts. 
When the war of 1812 cut off the supply of foreign 
sand, the sand from Plymouth Beach, Massachusetts, 
was used till better quality was discovered at Maurice 
River, New Jersey. 

The superiority of this sand is attested by such ex- 
perts as Thomas Webb and Son, of Stourbridge, Eng- 
land, who experimented with some sand from Massa- 
_chusetts, and exhibited the result at London in 1851. 
Also by Bontemps, one of the greatest authorities on 
glass, and by Henry Chance of Birmingham, England, 
in his article, “On the Manufacture of Glass.” 

In the early factories window glass and bottle-mak- 
ing seemed to go together. It was not till after 1837 
that factories were built exclusively for bottle-making.* 

The glass-houses where flint glass was made, manu- 
factured table and other ware, both blown and pressed. 
Pot metal is the term used for glass when the colour 


*Tatum. 


[ 253] 


——— eee 
OLD GLASS 
eT eee 


permeates the whole metal; flashed or double glass 
when the colour is confined to the surface; and stained, 
when it is burned in. 

Bottle-making, one of America’s first industries, be- 
came a very important one. Very necessary indeed 
were bottles of every description. The fine old squat 
ones, dark or light green or dark amber, are now much 
in demand for decorative purposes. They have a de- 
lightfully raffish look and speak of those potations long 
and deep in which our ancestors indulged. Three ven- 
erable ones, assorted sizes, are shown in Figure 1 50. 

There are occasionally to be found very charming 
little decorative bottles like the one shown in F igure 
151. It comes under the general heading “early Ameri- 
can” where so much of this interesting and delightful 
glass belongs, though the general tendency of collectors, 
and dealers too, is to apply the name of some glass- 
works to it without reference to facts. 

C. A. Tatum in an article in the Scientific American, 
entitled “One Hundred Years of Glass Achievement,” 
has this to say on the subject of bottles: 

“America is said to be the most wasteful country in 
the world in the matter of bottles. It is not the custom 
to save a bottle once it has served its purpose, particu- 
larly those which contain medicine. In Great Britain 
and on the Continent it is the practice for those who 
wish a prescription made up to furnish a well-washed 


bottle which has served a similar use before. In fact 
Figures 150 and 151, page 291. 


[ 254] 





ae 


OTHER EARLY GLASS 


Deen ener EEnnEEEn ERE nnn aes 


an extra charge is made by the chemist if no bottle is 
furnished by the purchaser of the dose. 

“At the beginning of the nineteenth century only 
two kinds of bottles were in general use for prescrip- 
tions or medicines. These were made of the commonest 
green glass, and were either long and slim like a phial, 
[Figure 152] or round and rather squat. The lip was 
thin and irregular in shape, making it difficult to drop 
liquid from it, so that the size of the drop continually 
varied. The drip from the bottle was so apt to destroy 
the label with directions that it was customary to tie 
this to the neck of a bottle with a string. The use of 
these bottles continued well into the century. 

“Being so prodigal in the use of pharmacists’ and 
other bottles it was fitting that America should make 
the first advances in bettering this form of glassware. 
About 1825 the octagon-shaped bottle made its appear- 
ance and was popular for a time, but was followed by 
the oval-shaped bottle as being more convenient. 

“A heavier lip and a uniform shape to the mouth 
were found more adapted to prescription ware and 
were taken up by the trade. Tools were used instead 
of the old hand-work, and more regular results ob- 
tained. 

“Then flint glass was substituted for the common 
green glass, the first of these appearing about 1861. 
Soon after a tall four-sided bottle with beveled edges 


was put on the market, and these ‘French Squares,’ as 
Figure 152, page 292. 


[ 255] 


——— ee 
OLD GLASS 
——— eee 


they were called, became very popular all over the 
country. 

“About 1867 lettered bottles were made, sometimes 
with the whole name, monogram or some trade device, 
appearing in raised letters on the side. This was 
achieved by the use of a special device known as a plate 
mold which was made to fit the various molds used in 
casting bottles of different shape.” 

The various articles made in glass for lighting pur- 
poses were very numerous, including the many pat- 
terns of candlesticks and all kinds of lamps. In the 
latter were burned lard, tallow, common grease, and 
oil. The early lamps of the better class had two wicks 
instead of one, like the one shown in Figure 1 So ic 
font is of clear glass and the base of amber glass. It 
was often the fashion in those farmhouses where these 
lamps were cherished long after gas was in use in the 
cities, to put in the font a bit of red flannel. This was 
considered highly decorative, and certainly claimed 
attention. 

The lamp in Figure 154 was made in Germantown, 
now Quincy, Massachusetts, and has a moulded font and 
a pressed base; it carries two wicks and belongs to the 
early nineteenth century. 

The lamp given in Figure 16¢ is probably earlier 
than the two previous ones, about 1800. It is of clear 


glass with heavily knopped stem, domed base, and the 
Figures 153-155, pages 292 and 29}. 


© 256] 








OLD GLASS 





Fig. 123. BLUE AND CLEAR GLASS SUGAR BOWLS 
(See page 242) 


naam 1 
Ct DY ae 





OLD. GEASS 





Fig. 125. COVERED RUMMER 
Fig. 124. SUGAR BOWLS, STIEGEL 
(See pages 245 and 242) 


[ 258 | 





Shi bol Bh afGe bwavsys: 








“Fig.-126..- WINE GLASSES WITH PLAIN BOWLS 
(See page 245) 


[259] 





OLD GLASS 





Fig. 127, WINE GLASSES WITH MOULDED BOWLS 
(See page 245) 


{ 260] 





OUR Wa G Laks 





Fig. 128. .WINE GLASSES WITH ENGRAVING 
(See page 246) 


Por 


OUND. (GEA 


SUSSVIO dIiTi GHAVYONA 


"61 “SIA 


(942 2O0¢ 99S) 





[ 262 ] 


OWA POR ASsS 


SASSVID GATIANVd GNV GAUAVYONA ‘O8T ‘SI 


(9b¢ 2bng aag? 





[ 263 | 


$$ —$ eee 
OUD UGGASS 





Fig, 131, ENGRAVED JELLY GLASSES 
(See page 246) 


[ 264 J 


OLD GTA Ss 


SUSSVIO dITd GaAAAOO 


. 


ctl 


rat | 


(Ltz avd 399) 





[ 265 | 








OLD GLASS 





Fig. 133. BOTTLE WITH PANEL AND DAISY PATTERN 
(See page 248) 


[. 266. ] 





OLD: GLASS 





Be Tet oes, 134. COVERED PITCHER 
(See pages 244 and 249) 


[ 267 | 


I ——— 


OLDSGUASS 





Fig. 135. CANDLESTICK Fig. 136. BLUE FLINT GLASS 
Fig. 137. MEDICINE GLASS Fig. 138. EGG CUP 
(See page 249) 


[ 268 ] 


OLD GLASS 





DECANTER 
BLUE PITCHERS AND COMPOTE 


Fig. 140. 


Fig. 139. 


(See page 249) 


[ 269 J 





OLD GLASS 





Fig. 141. MUGS 





’ . e - ; ro ae I 
. ak > ‘ , ‘4 S22 Cn See Nl ee Oe — wana . =< a 
‘ . . 
N +, Seo ue . 





OLD .GLASS5 





Fig. 143. PANELLED BOWL 


Fig. 142, FLIP OF CLEAR Fig. 144. RUMMER 
GLASS 


(See pages 249 and 250) | : 


hee 


OLD ;GLASS 


Spann 


GE 


fetes 


hee 


3 
‘She 


& 


TIRE MAL 
RT 


Sy 


HET 
: SE 


THE, 





STEEPLE DESIGN 
ENAMELLED BOTTLES 


146 


Fig. 


. 145 


18) 


. 


F 


(See page 250) 


[ 2724) 





OTHER EARLY GLASS 





edge of the rim folded up and over, as was seen in the 
wine glasses of this period. 

In 1815, Thomas Coffin, of Number Three, Chestnut 
Street, Philadelphia, announces in the Daily Advertiser 
that he has for sale: 


Best winter-pressed spermaceti oil; 


Second do do do 
Summer strained do do 
Common & Humpback do 
Best Streights Liver do 
Second Quality do do 


In the same issue of the paper appears the following 
notice: 


Great Sale of Elegant Lamps and Lustres, Store Lamps, ete. 


Will be sold at Public Auction, Monday morning next 27th. inst. 
at No. 4 South Third Street, an extensive and splendid collection 
of Lamps, Lustres, etc. And various articles appertaining thereto. 
Elegant Cut Glass Lamps for Mantles with one or two lights, orna- 
mented with cut glass pans and spangle drops, etc; do, do, gilt 
and bronze do; splendid Lustres ornamented with Paste drops, 
etc. of two, three and four lights. Grecian Lamps for halls and 
rooms, Entry Lamps in great variety, gilt, bronzed, two, three, or 
four branches. 


In Figure 156 is given a very handsome pair of 
lamps. These may have been made at Sandwich, for 
at the time of their closing down they were at work on 
an order of lamps. These have cut-glass fonts and 
shades and moulded bases, and were of comparatively 
late make, as can be seen from the design of the brass 


fixtures. 
Figure 156, page 293. 


[{ 273] 





OLD GLASS 





A blown glass lamp chimney is shown in Figure 157. 
These were used on metal lamps and were exceedingly 
fragile. 

We are used to furnish our old bureaus and desks 
with clear or opalescent glass knobs when we wish to 
restore them to what we believe to be their original con- 
dition. Yet the following advertisement which ap- 
peared in the American Daily Advertiser, Philadelphia, 
for March 4, 1830, shows that there were many other 
colours for sale: 


Glass Commode Knobs. The Subscriber will furnish Glass 
Commode Knobs of the following descriptions, viz., Plain, Fluted, 
Fine Twisted, Coarse Twisted, Moulded and Sunflower, all of 
Superior Double Flint Glass. Also the same as the above of the 
following colours, viz. Deep Blue, Turquoise, Opal, Pearl, Agate. 

Orders will be received for the above of any size they may be 
wanted. ‘They will be from the Jersey Glass Company, and in 
point of shape and quality of glass, not surpassed by any in the 
country; prices very low. 

Also, orders received for Cut Glass Knobs of any pattern re- 
quired. On hand, an invoice of extra rich Cut Glass Knobs, and 
a few Signal Lanterns. 

M. Nissit, 77 South Front Street, Philadelphia. 


In addition to the glass knobs for furniture there 
were others much more ornate, really very beautiful, 
generally of opal glass, which were screwed into the 
wall to support mirrors, pictures, or to hold back cur- 
tains. In Figure 158 are shown three of these knobs, 
opal glass and decidedly alluring. Plain glass ones are 
shown in Figure 159 and one of them is turned to show 


the metal mounting. 
Figures 157-159, pages 294. and 295. 


[274] 


| RETIN EIN OE 





OTHER EARLY GLASS 





The forger has been at work in reproducing these 
pretty things, but the character of the metal work be- 
trays him. The late E. A. Barber sounded a warning 
about these curtain knobs as far back as September 24, 
1911, in an article in the New York Sun, on “Old Glass 
and Its Imitations.” He says: 

“Pressed glass rosette curtain knobs in imitation of 
those produced at Sandwich, Massachusetts, about 1840 
and later, are now being made in such large quantities 
that they have recently appeared in many of the prin- 
cipal ‘antique shops,’ and in auction sales in New 
York and Philadelphia. They are found in clear trans- 
parent glass and in white opalescent glass, and in colour 
and design closely resemble the old ones. 

“These reproductions, however, are not dangerous, as 
they possess several features by which they may be 
recognized. The backs of the larger ones are well 
finished and present the appearance of sweating. The 
backs of the smaller ones are depressed to correspond 
with the relief design. The silvered or nickel-plated 
rods or shanks which run into them are fresh and bright 
and should deceive no one but the novice. Yet many 
of them are being sold to unsuspecting buyers, lovers 
of ancient things who do not take the trouble to examine 
them critically. 

“The old examples are heavier and cruder in finish 
and are more or less nicked around the scalloped edges, 
while the metal rods are tarnished and possess the marks 


[ 275] 





OLD GLASS 





of age. The spurious examples which we have seen are 
three and four inches in diameter and possess six petals 
and scalloped edges. One lot recently sold by public 
auction was fitted with the usual metal rods or screws, 
which had been treated with acid or oxidized in spots 
to imitate the appearance of rust. As genuine pieces 
can be picked up at moderate prices, usually about $1.50 
a pair, there would seem to be no good reason for pur- 
chasers being victimized by the sellers of cheap sub- 
stitutes.” 

If reproductions were so abundant twelve or more 
years ago, there must be even fewer veritable antique 
ones to be found now. The ones shown are at the Met- 
ropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 

Occasionally there are interesting bits of old glass, 
blown or moulded, which may be picked up in out-of- 
the-way places. True, the automobile has brought even 
the remotest hamlet within hailing distance of the 
dealer and collector, and there are many little old 
houses on back roads where clever imitations have been 
“planted” to deceive the enthusiastic but ignorant 
collector. 

But old blown glass is almost unmistakable. A clear 
glass mug like the one in Figure 160, with its welted 
base and rim, crude handle and bubble-flecked bowl, 
speaks for itself. Why seek to assign it to some definite 
glass-works? To call it “Early American” seems quite — 


identification enough. 
Figure 160, page 294. 


[ 276] 





OTHER EARLY GLASS 





So with the next mug, Figure 161, a three-legged 
affair with not even the legs matching. No doubt this 
was one of the pieces made by a workman from the 
“corner pot” to please his own fancy. In the account 
of glass-making in this country, in the “Special Report 
of Manufactures,” of the Tenth Census, there is this: 

“In 1837 there is a record of a ‘vial works’ and a 
‘black bottle factory,’ the latter the only one of its kind 
in the Western Country.” This factory made wine, 
porter and other black or amber bottles as well as demi- 
johns and carboys. The place where this was situated 
is not mentioned. This delightful three-legged mug 
may well have been made at a black-bottle factory. 

The wine glass shown in Figure 162 is another 
pleasing piece. Probably this was made for home use, 
it seems far too irregular for a commercial piece. 
“Early American” can be used to describe this, and 
even so any one would welcome it to a place on their 
shelves. 

Three very graceful wine glasses are shown in Fig- 
ure 163. They are in the Buswell collection. They 
have the air-twist stems which are so desirable, and so 
infrequently found to-day. Although the glass in Fig- 
ure 164 is called a medicine glass, it could be equally 
well used for a drinking glass. It is crude and rather 
heavy, but graceful in shape, and the term “Early 
American” covers this too. The rinsing bowl, Figure 


165, is like many of its English cousins, two-eared and 
Figures 161-165, pages 296 and 297. 


[ 277] 


—— 
OLD GLASS 





moulded. There was not the abundance of wine glasses 
that there are now, when this was made, though there 
were many kinds of wine. So the glass was rinsed 
when changing from one kind of wine to another. The 
ribbed moulding used on this glass was used on a variety 
of glasses and glass vessels. Pitchers, bowls, decanters, 
bottles, bowls and tumblers all have it, and sometimes 
it extends to the pontil mark on the bottom, but not 
always. I own a decanter with the three rings on the 
neck, and the ribbing extends from the sides to the very 
crude pontil mark on the bottom. So crude is the work- 
manship that three or four ribs extend beyond the rest, 
and these are the only ones which show wear. 

The last five glasses given are at the Metropolitan 
Museum, New York. | 

Cut-glass began to be advertised about 1830. In the 
Philadelphia directory for this year is this notice: 
‘“M?’Cord and Shiner, manufacturers of Cut Glass, No. 
3 & 7 Bank Alley, Back of the Merchants’ Coffee 
House, Philadelphia. Setts of Glass Executed to order 
at the shortest notice. Workmanship warranted equal 
to any in the world, or no sale.” 

Thomas E, Walker and Co. (1830) at No. 15 North 
Fourth Street advertise: “Heavy English Tale and 
Flint Tumblers, rough and cut bottoms, ring and star 
bottom do; rough and star bottom Decanters, Pocket 
bottles, Flower Glasses, Lamp Shades.” 

There was competition not only by English but by 


[ 278] 


OTHER EARLY GLASS 





Irish glass-works too. Henry J. Pepper, 103 Chestnut 
Street, Philadelphia, was agent for Waterford glass. 
His name is given in the directory for 1830, and his 
name is mentioned in the Waterford account books. 

Henry Chance, the great English glass-maker, in his 
paper, “On the Manufacture of Crown and Sheet 
Glass,” sums up in a few words the difficulties of 
making perfect glass: 

“Perhaps the glass has been badly melted and is 
seedy, that is, full of little vesicles, to which the rotary 
motion has given a circular shape; or the gatherer may 
have enclosed air within his metal and a gatherer’s 
blister is the result—or a pipe blister, or pipe scales, or 
dust from the pipe-nose, or dust from the marver, or 
dust from the bottoming-hole, or dust from the nose- 
hole, or dust from the flashing furnace, or bad bullions, 
or scratches, or music lines may disfigure the table, or 
the glass may be crizzled, or curved, or bent, or hard, 
or smoky, or small, or light, defects to explain which 
would be a long and dreary task.” 


[ 279] 


SARATOGA GLASS 


EW YORK State was among the first states to 
engage in glass-making. In 1732 it is recorded 
that two factories were in operation. It was 

not till 1810, however, that American glass-works be- 
came of sufficient importance to attract attention, and 
that the Census returns include a statement of manu- 
factured articles.* 

There were many little glass-works scattered all 
about the state, and their product was small, and most 
of them were short-lived. The only records remaining 
are to be found in early gazeteers and county histories. 
Such accounts from these sources as I have been able 
to verify are found in the list at the back of the book. 

In 1835 the Census reports thirteen glass-houses at 
work in New York State. The product of one of these, 
at Saratoga Springs, has not entirely disappeared, and 
Saratoga glass has been eagerly snapped up by such 
collectors as have been fortunate enough to secure it. 
In a New York State gazeteer (1860) mention is made 
of a glass-works being established at Mt. Pleasant, 
Saratoga County, in 18or. 

Whether this date is too early I cannot say, but the 
glass which is now so eagerly sought by collectors dates 


* Tenth Census. 


[ 280 ] 





SARATOGA GLASS 


considerably later. My informant, Mr. S. M. Sterns 
of Saratoga Springs, says that the first Saratoga factory 
was started about 1835 on top of a mountain about 
twelve miles from Saratoga. Wood was abundant, but 
all the materials for making glass were hauled up the 
mountain, made into glass and then hauled down. 

Bottles only were made, some for spring water, others 
for pocket flasks of the same type as the “Success to the 
Rail Road” flasks. While bottles were the regular 
product of the works, the glass-blowers were allowed 
to make for their own use all the dishes and small wares 
they desired, such as rolling-pins, canes, cans, bowls, 
balls, hats, darners, Jacob’s Ladders, besides all kinds 
of table wares. As the metal was furnished free of 
cost to the workmen, their homes were well supplied. 

The glass objects were made in three colours, light 
green, a rich deep green, and olive. A collection of 
this glass is shown in Figure 166. The glass-blowers 
were evidently men of taste, as the shapes of the articles 
are very pretty, and their rich colouring makes them 
most attractive. 

The workmen for this factory are said to have come 
from Rome, New York, and the factory was built and 
operated by the Granger Brothers. Very recently there 
was still living one of the men who was a glass-blower 
at the Saratoga factory. 

The second glass-works, erected at Saratoga Springs 


itself, was built by the Congress Spring Company. 
Figure 166, page 297. 


[ 281 ] 





OLD GLASS 





Mr. Sterns says: “The glass made by both of these com- 
panies is of great value. This section has been combed, 
raked and spaded, and the glass brings unheard-of 
prices. I think the hunt must soon end, as I spent two 
days last week with only one good vase as a reward of 
a cellar to garret search.” 

The workmen from the mountain factory came to the 
Congress Springs Company’s works soon after they 
were opened, and the factory continued to operate till 
about 1900. 


[ 282] 


BOTTLES AND FLASKS 


OTTLES and flasks, either for liquor or medi- 
cine, present an interesting field for many col- 
lectors. But while these bits of glassware may 

be of value historically, they can never make a collec- 
tion as beautiful to look upon as table and domestic 
glass, owing to the similarity of shape and colour. Yet 
when we see the arrangement in Figure 168 we are 
almost tempted to retract this statement, for Mr. Bus- 
well seems te have overcome these difficulties most 
successfully. 

It is true that these bottles were originally made in 
many different colours—olive, light and dark blue, 
emerald and light green, claret, rich brown, amber, 
opalescent and clear glass. But the survivors seem to 
be chiefly olive and light green, clear glass and brown. 
They were made between 1808 and 1870 and were 
blown in engraved metal moulds. 

One of these bottles, in log-cabin shape, marked 
“EB. Z. Booz’s Old Cabin Whiskey, 1840” on the roof, 
and “120 Walnut St. Philadelphia” on the end, is a 
favourite. They may be found in various shades of 
amber, pale green or clear glass. The Whitney Glass 
Works made these bottles in Philadelphia in the Wil- 


liam Henry Harrison presidential campaign, and no 
Figure 167, page 298. 


[ 283 ] 





OLD GLASS 





doubt Booz did a good business selling them filled. 
In Figure 168 is one of these bottles and the mould 
it was made in. They belong to the Pennsylvania 
Museum of Fine Arts, Philadelphia. 

The late Dr. Barber, in “American Glassware,” 
divided these bottles into six classes, which is a sufhi- 
ciently broad characterisation to cover even the large 
number which have come to light. A very admirable 
check list has been prepared by Stephen Van Rens- 
selaer in a little book called “Early American Bottles 
and Flasks.” It covers the subject exhaustively. 

Dr. Barber’s division is as follows: 


Type I. Slender and arched in form, flattened and shallow; 
edges horizontally corrugated. Elongated neck, sheared mouth, 
scarred base. 

Type II. Oval in form, flattened and shallow; edges ribbed 
vertically, sheared mouth, scarred base. 

Type III. Almost circular in form, flattened and shallow; plain 
rounded edges. Shortened neck; sheared, collared, or beaded mouth; 
scarred or flat base. 

Type IV. Calabash or decanter shape, almost spherical; edges 
corrugated, ribbed or fluted vertically. Long, slender neck, circular 
or many-sided; sloping collar or cap at top; smoothly hollowed 
or hollowed and scarred base. 

Type V. Arched in form, flattened and deep; edges corrugated 
vertically. Very broad and short neck, narrow round beading at 
top; scarred or flat base. 

Type VI. Arched in form, broad at shoulder and narrow at base; 
flattened and shallow (modern flask shape); plain and rounded 
edges. Medium neck, single or double beading at top. Smoothly 
hollowed or flat base. Occasionally sheared mouth and scarred base. 


Early flasks are shown in Figure 169. They were 


made at the Albany Glass Works, which was opened 
Figures 763 and& rég, page 299 


[ 284 ] 


we: cer 





BOTTLES AND FLASKS 





as early as 1786 and closed in 1815. One of these flasks 
is in light blue and one in amber. The figure is George 
Washington in uniform; reverse, a full-rigged ship. 

An eagle flask, aquamarine, made at Kensington 
Glass Works, is shown in Figure 170. This flask con- 
forms to Type II of Barber. It is at the Metropolitan 
Museum. | 

A flask made at Coventry, Connecticut, about 18265 
is shown in Figure 171. The D in DeWitt Clinton is 
reversed, and the workmanship is more crude than is 
usual with flasks of this period. It is at the Toledo 
Museum. The colour is amber and the reverse shows 
a bust of Lafayette facing to the right. 

The two flasks in Figure 172 were made at the 
Kensington Glass Works. One shows a bust of Frank- 
lin; reverse the same; no lettering. The colour is 
aquamarine, sheared mouth, scarred base. ‘The other 
flask shows a bust of General Taylor and the legend, 
“Gen. Taylor never surrenders.” Above this is the 
lettering ‘‘Dyottville Glass Works, Philadelphia.” 
The later form of these flasks had collared mouths, and 
the lettering was omitted. These flasks are at the Met- 
ropolitan Museum. 

When Kossuth, the Hungarian patriot, was in this 
country at least two flasks were struck off in his honour. 
One of them is shown in Figure 173. This flask be- 
longs to the class listed as Type IV of Barber, and has 


on the side shown a side-wheel steamboat with the 
Figures 170-173, pages 300-302. 


[ 285 ] 





OLD GLASS 





words “U. 8. Steam Frigate Mississippi, S. Huffsey.” 
This flask was made about 1850. 

Other Huffsey flasks are shown in Figure 174. The 
smaller flask shown in Figure 173 is the more unusual; 
it has a bust of Taylor with “Bridgetown, New Jersey,” 
surrounding it; reverse, bust of Washington. This was 
made about 1855. 

The three flasks representing the Baltimore Glass 
Works are shown in Figure 175. ‘The two outer ones 
show Washington and Taylor in profile, facing right. 
Surrounding Taylor are the words “Baltimore Glass 
Works.” ‘These were made at the Federal Hill branch, 
which was established as early as 1790. The smaller 
flask shows Taylor in uniform, facing left, surrounded 
by the words “Baltimore Glass Works.” ‘These flasks, 
pint and quart size, were made in aquamarine and 
amber. 

The five bottles shown in Figure 176 are of unusual 
interest, most of them coming from glass-works which 
only varied their window glass activities by making 
bottles. The first one, barrel shape, was a design much 
used by sellers of “Bitters,” and is the most modern of 
the group. One in this shape and marked “Old Sachem 
Bitters and Wigwam Tonic” is not hard to find. 

The flask marked “Liberty” is a product of the West 
Willington Glass Works, which operated in that place 
under different managements, from 1830 to 1872. The 


flask with the basket of flowers is one of two designs 
Figures 174-176, pages 302-304. 


[ 286 ] 


BOTTLES AND FLASKS 








made by the Lancaster Glass Works, at Lancaster, New 
York. Itisa pretty bottle, in aquamarine, with sheared 
mouth and scarred base. 

“Success to the Rail Road” was made at the Kensing- 
ton Glass Works; reverse the same. It is a fine old 
bottle, amber, quart size. ‘The stopper is one which 
you occasionally come across in a bottle which has been 
in a farmhouse home, and is a bit of a corn-cob. 
Whether it was put in because it was handy, or to im- 
prove the flavour, or to show that the contents was 
“corn likker,” who shall say? 

The fifth flask was made at the Westford Glass 
Works which opened 1857. It shows its comparatively 
modern origin by its double-ringed neck. These flasks 
are at the Metropolitan Museum. 

A flask of considerable interest, maker unknown, is 
the deer and hunter one, shown in Figure 177. It is 
pint size, sapphire blue, and has an unusual base, which 
is scarred. The reverse shows a boar’s head in centre, 
surrounded by oak leaves and acorns. 

The other flask, with its spread eagle, was made at 
the Louisville Glass Works, which were opened in 1875 
and operated by Capt. J. B. Ford. This flask is amber, 
but they also came in light green. The two flasks be- 
long to the Pennsylvania Museum of Fine Arts. 

The first flask in Figure 178 is another Lancaster, 
New York, one; it is pint size, aquamarine. The second 


one has a Masonic design, with twelve stones in the 
Figures 177 and 178, pages 303 and 321. 


[ 287] 





OLD GLASS 





pavement, and Masonic emblems around and outside 
the arch. The reverse has an eagle, facing left and 
perched on arrows, and an olive branch. Panel below 
contains the word “Keene.” Amber. 

The one with the clasped hands and the word 
“Union” may have been made by Huffsey, at the Whit- 
ney Glass Works, or at Pittsburg. The reverse is the 
same and the double-collared neck makes it later than 
the Kossuth and Jenny Lind bottles. Its colour is 
amber. 

Gen. Taylor in uniform, facing left, with “Bridge- 
ton, New Jersey,” and a star encircling bust, is the 
fourth bottle. Washington is on the reverse, with the 
name above. Light green, pint size. These four bot- 
tles are the property of the Metropolitan Museum, 
New York. 

Some pretty little flasks with pewter tops, similar to 
those made at the Louisville Glass Works, are shown in 
the next illustration, Figure 179. The designs are 
hearts and fleurs-de-lis. They belong to the Pennsyl- 


vania Museum of Fine Arts. 
Figure 179, page 322. 


[ 288 ] 


ONE DIG VAS ss 


NOISad FAO 


RB Bet 


wnasnw sinoaow 


"Stl “ST 





Naa LLVd Gala 


(0Sz abv¢ 229) 
LbT “Sly 


4 





[ 289 ] 





OLD GLASS 





Fig. 149. BLUE AND CLEAR GLASS, STIEGEL 
(See page 250) 


[ 2a0 ] 





OD GIZA Ss 





Fig.-151.- MOULDED BOTTLE 


Fig. 150. EARLY BOTTLES 
(See page 254) 


[291 ] 


OTD. GLASS 


dNVI NMOLNVWYID 


"PST “SI 


dNVI ATYVA 


“SST 


‘I 


(98% pu cz sabvg aag) 
IVIHd ATUVA ‘2ST ‘3Iy 





[ 292 J 





ONE IEE NGAbS Asis) 





Fig. 155. CLEAR GLASS LAMP 
Fig. 156. CUT AND MOULDED LAMP 
(See pages 256 and 273) 


[ 293 ] 


OLD GLASS 





[ 204 ] 





CLEAR GLASS MUG 


LAMP CHIMNEY Fig. 160. 


(See pages 274 and 276) 


Fig. 157. 





OME ABE TE Abos vies 





Fig. 158. CURTAIN KNOBS, OPAL 
Fig. 159. CLEAR GLASS KNOBS 


(See page 274) 


[295] 


a EEE EE Eee 
O.L.D —GUASS 


esses 





Fig. 161. MUG WITH LEGS Fig. 162. EARLY WINE 


GLASS 
Fig. 163. WINE GLASSES, AIR-TWIST STEMS 


(See page 277) 
[ 296 ] 





OED GITASS 


etic 





Fig. 164. MEDICINE Fig. 165. RINSING BOWL 
GLASS 


Fig. 166. SARATOGA GLASS 
(See pages 277 and 281) 


[ 297 ] 





OLD GLASS 


e 


epee 











Fig. 167. ARRANGEMENT OF BOTTLES AND FLASKS 
(See page 283) 


“fees 








OLD-GLASS 





Fig. 168. BOOZ BOTTLE AND MOULD 
Fig. 169. EARLY ALBANY FLASKS 


(See page 284) 
[ 299 | 


OL D2GLUASs 


MSVII “NNOO ‘AYLNTAOD 


"ILL “St 


NO.LONISN@S1 





(a2 ou 


“OLT “SIW 





verwy 





ODD GLASS 


"Lav 40 


NVLIIOdONL3W ZHI 


SUSVII NOLONISNGS 


c 


Lt 


‘Si 


($82 








OD 2G Eas 





Fig. 173. KOSSUTH AND HUFFSEY BOTTLES 
Fig. 174. HUFFSEY BOTTLES 
(See pages 285 and 286) 


[ 302 ] 


OW DeGUASS 





BALTIMORE FLASKS 


175. 


Fig. 


. FLASKS 


hig. -177 


(See pages 286 and 287) 





OU DEGAS 





Fig. 176. BOTTLES AND FLASKS 
(See page 286) 


L 304 J 


THREE-SECTION MOULD GLASS 


HE average collector who loves his glass for its 
own beauty, the pleasure he had in finding it, 


and the delight of possession, does not concern 
himself too deeply as to where it was made. For the 
owner of the three-section mould pieces this is a wise 
state of mind, for so far a large portion of this charm- 
ing class of glass must come under the head of “Maker 
Unknown.” 

Almost all of the three-section mould pieces have a 
strong family resemblance, as to decoration at least, for 
the quilted and sunburst pattern is the one most fre- 
quently found. This glass is almost as agreeable to 
touch as to sight, and there are certain pieces which 
are most beguiling, even if the collector’s fancy runs 
to glass in a particular colour, or to some one object, 
pitchers, salt-cellars, etc., or the product of some one 
glass-house. 

There are small decanters, delightful little things 
with sunburst and quilted design and ball stoppers, 
holding perhaps a pint, which may be found occa- 
sionally. Recently I had one offered me as a piece of 
English glass, the dealer not being sufficiently well in- 
formed on this branch of American glass to recog- 
nise it. 


[ 305 ] 


LL SS sss? 


OLD GLASS 
Se 


The large decanters with the usual sunburst and 
quilted pattern are not so rare as the small ones. The 
decanter shown in Figure 180 is somewhat unique, since 
this one has the daisy-in-the-square pattern instead of 
the sunburst. This daisy pattern is spoken of later. 

Many different pieces of table-ware were made in 
the three-section moulds, and saucers, bowls, one of the 
latter being nine and three-quarters inches in diameter, 
together with pitchers and a mug are shown in Figure 
181. The bowls are very decorative with the quaint 
design on them, combined with ribbing and heavy 
welted edges. 

One of the least common pieces is a sugar-bowl, in 
this three-section mould type of glass. A very fine one, 
in fact the choicest known, is shown in Figure 182. It 
is in the Buswell collection. The cover is most ornate 
and fits perfectly, which is not always the case. 

It may be well to state here for the benefit of those 
who do not know this three-section mould glass, that 
instead of being blown into the ordinary moulds which 
had two sections, these moulds had three sections. The 
two-section mould glass showed two ridges where the 
moulds joined, and the three-section mould glass 
showed three. The moulds were never perfect enough 
not to show these ridges, and with use they grew larger, 
and always were in evidence. 

Two pitchers, quilted and ribbed, are seen in Figure 


183. Though attractive they are not so pretty as when 
Figures 180-183, pages 322-324. 


[ 306 ] 





THREE-SECTION MOULD GLASS 





combined with the sunburst. Drinking glasses of many 
kinds were made in this type of glass, and a flip glass 
quilted and ribbed is given in Figure 184; a barrel- 
shaped tumbler, quilted and ribbed, is shown in Figure 
185; and a wine glass with diagonal fluting in addition 
to the quilting and ribbing is shown in Figure 186. 
The barrel-shaped tumbler and quilted salt-cellar 
given in Figure 187 are assigned to New Hanover, New 
Jersey, but I find no record of any glass-works estab- 
lished there. They are, however, exactly of the same 
type as the other three-section mould pieces, so I in- 
clude them here. They, like the other three-section 
mould pieces with the exception of the sugar-bowl, are 
the property of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New 


York. 
Figures 184-187, pages 325 and 320. 


[ 307 ] 


STODDARD GLASS 


HE glass made at Stoddard, New Hampshire, 
is also, some of it, blown in three-section 
moulds. In searching about for some glass- 

works where it is known that three-section mould glass 
was made, much incorrect information has been set 
afloat. 

The kind of glass made at Stoddard was coarse in 
quality, and a dark amber-green in colour. Window 
glass, bottles and decanters were the chief output, and 
in the “History of Stoddard, N. H.” by Isaiah Gould, 
published 1897, he says that the largest business carried 
on in the town was the manufacturing of glass bottles. 

In Figure 188 are shown three Stoddard bottles or 
decanters, which belong to the Toledo Museum of Art. 
They show the quilted and sunburst design, are blown 
in three-section moulds, but are dark and heavy. 

The first glass-works in Stoddard were built in 1842 
by Joseph Foster, who came from Keene, New Hamp- 
shire, and “built a furnace, of stone principally, in an 
old house west from Gilson’s Tavern, and ran it a short 
time, but having no capital he failed in business. He 
afterward built another 80 rods north of the village, 
but again failed.” 


“Gilman Scripture, John M. Whiton, jr., and Calvin 
Figure 188, page 326. 


[ 308 J 





STODDARD GLASS 


Curtis built a large factory for making bottles at Mill 
Village in 1846, and were doing a profitable business. 
The next winter the factory was burned. It was soon 
rebuilt. They are (1854) making annually about 
$2500. worth of bottles of various sizes and descrip- 
tions.” 

The two bottles in Figure 189 show the crudeness of 
the metal. They belong to the Metropolitan Museum 
of Art. 

While still continuing the dark amber-green colour 
of the glass, the two pitchers shown in Figure 190, 
three-section mould, are much better quality metal. 
The one with the wide quilted and sunburst band be- 
longs to the Toledo Museum of Art, the other to the 
Metropolitan Museum. 

The two glass inkstands in Figure 191 are also Stod- 
dard and are at the Metropolitan Museum. They are 
coarse and dark but the decoration persists in the famil- 
lar pattern. . , 

“Another factory was built in the south part of the 
town( Stoddard) for the same purpose (making bot- 
tles) in 1850 by Luman Weeks, Almon Woods, Ebe- 
nezer A. Rice, Nicholas Hill and Fred A. Gilson, 
where they carried on business two years, when Messrs. 
Wood and Hill left the company; after another year 
Mr. Rice sold out; the business is (1854) carried on by 
Messrs. Weeks and Gilson; they are doing a good busi- 


ness but something less than the other company.” 
Figures 189-191, pages 327-320. 


[ 309 ] 





OLD GLASS 





These notes were furnished me by Otis G. Ham- 
mond, Superintendent of the New Hampshire His- 
torical Society, Concord, N. H. He also says that all 
the glass he has seen from these factories is coarse, dark, 
heavy metal. 

Yet there has recently been ascribed to Stoddard, 
table-ware of a rich blue colour. There has also been 
sold at auction under the name of “Stoddard” a double- 
dipped pitcher, Wistarberg type and colour. 

I am giving in Figure 192 two little clear glass hats. 
They are ascribed to Stoddard, but it is extremely 
doubtful if they were made there. Even though they 
show the quilted pattern, the alternating figure is not 
the sunburst, but the daisy-in-the-square, which was 
used sometimes by Stiegel. It is much more likely that 
they were made in South Jersey or Pennsylvania, both 
from the quality of the glass and the decoration. They 
are at the Metropolitan Museum. 

Among the historical bottles there is one with an 
eagle design and the words “New Granite Glass Co.” 
and on the reverse, “Stoddard, N. H.” The firm which 
made this bottle must have been one of little impor- 
tance, for Mr. Hammond of the New Hampshire His- 
torical Society tells me that he finds no record of the 
incorporation of any such company, nor any mention 
of it. 

There was not any large amount of money invested 


in glass-works in New Hampshire, at least during the 
Figure 192, page 329. 


[310] 





STODDARD GLASS 





first quarter of the nineteenth century. The “Special 
Report of Manufactures of the Tenth Census” states 


that in 1820 twenty-five thousand dollars was the sum 
invested in glass-works in the state. 


[311] 


KEENE GLASS 


HE story of the glass-making business at Keene, 
New Hampshire, is clear enough, but the glass 


which was made there, chiefly bottles and 
decanters, seems to have almost entirely disappeared. 
The following extracts from the “History of Keene,” 
and from other records, have been furnished me by 
Mr. Hammond of the New Hampshire Historical 
Society. | 
The most important person connected with the glass 
industry of Keene was Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, 
L.L.D., U. S. Indian agent and author, who was born 
at Watervliet, N. Y., in 1793; was graduated at Union 
College in 1811; then learned the art of glass-making. 
“His grandfather came from England, surveyed 
land, taught school, and changed the family name from 
Calcroft to Schoolcraft. His father, Laurence School- 
craft, was superintendent of a glass factory near Albany, 
N. Y.—had been a soldier in the Revolutionary War, 
and a colonel in the War of 1812—came to Keene about 
1814 aS an expert to superintend the manufacture of 
glass, and remained several years. 
‘‘Henry came to Keene with his father, and the next 
year Daniel Watson, Timothy Twitchell and young 
Schoolcraft seceded from the company on Prison Street, 


[312] 


a SS SS SL NS 


KEENE GLASS 





united as partners, built a factory and made flint glass 
bottles and decanters on Marlboro Street, and had a 
store on Main Street, near the present Eagle Hotel. 
Afterward Watson, and still later Twitchell, withdrew. 
Nathaniel Sprague joined, and the firm became School- 
craft and Sprague.” 

From the New Hampshire Laws, 1811-1820, it 
appears that the factory of Henry R. Schoolcraft and 
Nathaniel Sprague for the manufacture of glass in 
Keene, was exempted from taxation to the valuation of 
$10,000 by Act of June 26, 1816. The workmen, viz., 
one master stoker, two common stokers, two wood 
dryers, one calciner, one pot-maker, and five blowers 
were exempted from military duty. Act continued for 
five years, December 16, 1820. 

The New Hampshire Glass Factory was exempt 
from taxation as well as Schoolcraft and Sprague. 
Their valuation was put at $15,000 and their workmen 
were exempt from military duty. The exemption from 
taxation was to continue five years. 

In 1823 the Marlboro Street factory had passed into 
the hands of Justus Perry and John V. Wood. They 
continued the manufacture of glass bottles and decan- 
ters under the firm name of Perry and Wood. It was 
during their ownership that the bottles with eagle de- 
sign and letters “P.W.” were made. 

By 1840 both glass factories were in operation, and 
for a short time a third one was in operation. By 1850 


[ 313 ] 





OLD GLASS 





the Marlboro works were closed and the business 
moved to Stoddard. J.D. Colony and Co. were making 
window glass at the other factory, but late in this year 
this factory, a landmark for half a century, was de- 
stroyed by fire. 

Like the Stoddard glass, that made at Keene was 
dark and coarse in texture. A letter from John J. 
Colony, of Keene, states that there was no very early 
manufacture of glass in Keene, and that window glass 
and bottles were the product of the works. He says 
that he remembers some of these bottles which were 
owned by his father, and they were decorated with crude 
designs, Masonic or patriotic, one or two of which were 
marked “Keene.” But most of them had no designa- 
tion whatever. 

Among the historic bottles illustrated is one of these 
bottles marked Keene. 

Apparently, however, the same rule was observed at 
Keene that was common at other glass-works, that the 
blowers were allowed to use the metal to make things 
for themselves. Mrs. Frederick Barrett, of Keene, 
owns two very hardsome pitchers of a light green 
emerald glass, resembling Wistarberg in type, which 
were made at the Marlboro Street works at Keene, 
which at one time were operated by Mrs. Barrett’s 
grandfather. The authenticity of these pitchers is un- 
doubted. 


[314] 


PITKIN GLASS 
>: story of Pitkin glass can fortunately be 


written with a certainty which belongs to few 

other early American glass-works. The glass 
factory itself was in operation from 1783 to 1830, in- 
clusive, at Manchester, Connecticut. The glass which 
was made there is well known though few authentic 
specimens exist, and those are so closely held that prac- 
tically none come on the market. 

The Pitkin family was prominent even before the 
Revolution. Captain Richard Pitkin and his sons 
William and Joseph were of such service to the Gov- 
ernment during the trying days of the Revolution that 
they were granted the privilege of being the sole manu- 
facturers of glass and snuff in the State of Connecticut 
for twenty-five years. That they made the glass is a 
matter of history; whether they ever made snuff is not 
known. 

The factory was built in 1783, and the ruins of it are 
shown in Figure 193. The ruins are very picturesque 
and belong now to the Orford Parish Chapter of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution, who will keep 
them in as good preservation as possible. The grey 
stone walls are covered with vines, and a good-sized 
tree is growing out of the centre. 

Figure 193, page 330. 


(315 ] 


een nner Sse SSSSSSSSSSSSeesiens 
OLD GLASS 





The product of the factory was bottles and demi- 
johns, made from olive-green glass which is very 
bubbly. They occasionally made jars and inkstands. 
The factory was large enough to employ thirty men, 
and run on day and night shifts. There was not only 
a local but an export trade as well. After the bottles 
were blown they were taken in large quantities to Hart- 
ford by ox-team and shipped to the West Indies. The 
shipper was paid in rum and molasses. 

In Figure 194 is shown a group of Pitkin glass. It 
belonged to the late Albert H. Pitkin, of Hartford, 
Connecticut, who was not connected with the Pitkins 
who were glass-blowers, but was an interested collector 
all the same. These pieces were shown at the Hudson- 
Fulton Celebration in New York in 1909. A great part 
of Mr. Pitkin’s collection of pottery and glass was 
given to the Hartford Atheneum. 

Like so much of this early American glass, the Pitkin 
glass, made for business purposes and not domestic use, 
was rough and crude. The bottles and demijohns, 
many of which were very large, had a great depression 
in the bottom, with a sharp bit of glass where the pontil 
was detached. The object at the end of the row in 
Figure 194 is a crude lump of the glass. 

The factory continued in operation till 1830, when 
work was for some reason suspended and never re- 
sumed. Possibly it was lack of fuel, since wood was 


used, and no doubt the forty-seven years of operation 
Figure 194, page 330. 


[ 316] 





BEER EN GLASS 


had reduced the immediate supply, and made getting 
a sufficient quantity both difficult and costly. 

The information about Pitkin glass was obtained 
from Mrs. J. M. Williams, of Manchester, Connecti- 
cut. Most of the Pitkin glass which is now owned in 
Manchester and vicinity came from the wagon factory 
belonging to Mrs. Williams’ grandfather. He used 
many of the Pitkin bottles of all sizes to hold his paints, 
oils and varnishes. When his estate was finally settled 
up in 1900, the bottles were distributed among the 
townspeople. 

Some of the demijohns are very large, with very 
squat bodies. These are seldom found. There is a pair 
owned in the Pitkin family which are used as fireside 
ornaments. Mrs. Williams herself owns a bottle with 
corrugated sides, which is very pretty, and more deli- 
cate than the others known. 

Memorials of the works of the Pitkins, of which the 
factory is but one object, remain to this day. The 
epitaph on the tombstone of Esquire Richard Pitkin, 
who lies buried in the East Cemetery, reads: 

“The shade-trees by the roadside will long perpetuate 
his memory, and to-day, more than eighty years since 
his death, the solid mile or more of elms and maples 
on Porter and Center streets are a living monument to 
his public spirit and a joy to the many passers-by.” 


F437.) 


HISTORIC CUP PLATES 


HE enthusiasm which so many collectors feel 
for the pressed glass cup plates have brought 
these little objects, which are not very pretty, 

prominently before the public. Originally they were 
made to sell for a few cents each, and it is by no means 
certain that all the different patterns which are so 
eagerly sought were made at Sandwich, Massachusetts. 
In Antiques for February, 1922, is a list of patterns 
of these cup plates which is given here by permission. 


SHIP CapMus. Small design of ship under full sail in centre, enclosed in 
circle. Pattern on the edge varies in different specimens. 

CHANCELLOR LivincsTon. There are three types of this design, showing a 
side-paddle steamboat. The name is impressed above and below 
the boat. See Figure 195. 

THE BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. Also a side-paddle steamboat. The name Ben- 
jamin Franklin is printed above the boat. An imitation of this cup 
plate has recently been put on the market, and through the courtesy 
of Antiques we show them side by side. The genuine is nicked, and 
very clear, and in plain glass. The forgery is in blue glass, with 
perfect edge, the design shows up sharply. Figure 186. 

PITTSBURGH STEAMBOAT. Marked “Union Glass Works, Pittsburgh, 1836.” 

THE FRIGATE CONSTITUTION. The design shows a frigate under full sail, on 
an octagonal cup plate. Very rare. In Figure 197 is given what is 
possibly a unique presentment of this design on a dish four and a half 
by seven inches. By permission of Antiques. 

FULTON STEAMBOAT. Also on octagonal cup plate. Another rare piece. 

THE Mat OF THE Mist. Made probably in the early so’s. A rare cup plate, 
but far less attractive than many other designs. It shows a picture of 
Suspension Bridge with the boat passing underneath it. 

Henry Ciay. There are six varieties of this favourite design. ‘They show 
a bust of Henry Clay within a circle, surrounded by conventional 


Figures 195-197, pages 331-333. 


[ 318 ] 





Peron LC CUP PLATES 





leaves. On most of the types the name “Henry Clay” surrounds the 
bust, but in one variety, the “N” is turned wrong-sided. The edge 
may be in single or double scallops. These Henry Clay cup plates are 
usually assigned to Sandwich, and most of them have that attractive 
edge, one large and two small scallops, which is thought to be from 
that factory. At the Toledo Museum of Art, in the Libby-Barber col- 
lection, is one of these cup plates in sapphire blue. One of the types 
is shown in Figure 198. 

There is another cup plate marked “Henry Clay,” with single scalloped 
edge, which is eagerly sought by collectors. The bust shows a head 
with curling hair, a ruffled cravat and upstanding coat collar. This is 
one of those misnamed pieces, like some of the Staffordshire busts. 
The border is stippled with floral designs at regular spaces, and it is a 
choice piece of glass. 

GerorcE WASHINGTON. This is another choice piece and much sought after. 
The large head is placed upon a star in the centre and surrounded by 
a laurel wreath. Octagonal, with scalloped border. 

Rincotp-PaLo Ato. This plate was struck off to commemorate the death 
of Major Ringold at Palo Alto in 1846. This was at the opening of 
the Mexican War, and Major Ringold was a popular hero. 

Harrison. There are two types of this cup plate, one with the word “Presi- 
dent” in a reserve space above the head, see Figure 198, and one showing 
the space without the lettering. Both of them show around the head 
the word “Major-Gen. W. H. Harrison, born Feb. 9, 1773.” The 
Presidential one also has the date “1841.” 

Loc-Capin, with cider barrel, flag and tree. ‘This is to symbolise the 
Tippecanoe Hard Cider campaign. There are three patterns of this 
design, two with different borders of loosely grouped flowers, and a 
third with acorn border. One is shown in Figure 198. 

Fort Meics Loc-Casin. The log-cabin in the centre has above it the words 
“Fort Meigs.” In the border is the word “Tippecanoe,” and below 
the name “Wm. H. Harrison.” See Figure 198. 

Loc-CaBIn, with flag. This is a small cup plate, showing in the centre a 
picture of a log-cabin with a flag on the ridge-pole, blowing in the 
breeze. 

Loc-CaBIN, with chimney. Less pleasing than the other log-cabin designs ; 
the border is plain with wide-scalloped edge. 

Loc-CABIN, with Liberty Cap on pole. A recent addition to the list. 

BEEHIVE. ‘Two types, both showing beehives in centre, the difference being 
in the border and quality of glass. Figure 195. 

EaGLe, 1831. Figure of eagle in centre, facing left, and below it the date, 
1831. Figure 198. 

Figure 198, page 334. 


[319] 


—SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSMMSsFfsses 
OLD GLASS 


en 


Eacte, with plain edge. This eagle faces right, there is no date and the 
edge is plain. 

SMALL EacLe, with dotted edge. Eagle faces right and about it are thirteen 
stars. Dotted edge. 

GrAPE-VINE EacGue. This is one of the rare patterns. Eagle in centre very 
small, with grape-vine border. The stippled work on border and 
scalloped and pointed edge are very pretty. 

FLEUR-DE-LIS EAGLE. Eagle in centre very clear and fine, surrounded by a 
little rim of fleurs-de-lis alternating with small flowers. ‘There is a 
stippled border with leaves and flowers. 

EAGLE AND THIRTEEN Stars. A fine eagle in centre, grasping thunderbolts, 
and above it thirteen stars arranged in a semi-circle. Scalloped edge 
and floral border. Rare. See upper row, Figure 195. 

EAGLE WITH THIRTEEN STARS IN SuNBURST. There are three varieties of 
this pattern, central design of eagle surrounded with a stipple ring set 
with thirteen stars, but with different borders and edges, one of them 
being plain. See Figure 195, lower row. 

Fort Pitr Eacte. This design in two styles is highly considered, showing 


the eagle in the centre with scroll above, with the words “Fort Pitt” 
and twenty-four stars. This places the date of its issue between 1821 


and 1836. Edge may be scalloped or plain. 

Hop or BLACKBERRY-VINE Eacie. Small eagle surrounded by dots, and a 
vine border, edge plain. 

Bunker Hitt. There are four variations in the Bunker Hill pattern. All 
have scalloped edges with a picture of the monument in the centre. 
The lettering on them varies, one form being, “Bunker Hill battle fought 
June 17, 1775.” Another has in addition a second row of lettering 
which says, “From the Fair to the Brave.” (See Figure 198.) Another 
one has an outside rim of printing which reads, “Corner stone laid 
by Lafayette, June 17, 1825. Finished by the Ladies.” (Figure 198.) 
Collectors as a rule assign the Bunker Hill cup plates to Sandwich, but 
there are no records to back up this assumption. The general work- 
manship and quality of the glass is what they go upon, though Sandwich 
glass, so-called, varies from clear fine metal to that imperfectly cooked 
and full of bubbles and lines. 


A cup plate has recently appeared with the design of a plow in the 
centre. It has a stipple border with leaves raying out from the centre 
medallion, and an edge of scallops and points. 

There is a log-cabin tea plate made at the Whitney works (see 
Figure 199) probably about 1840, at the same time they made the log- 
cabin whiskey-bottle, which is the prettiest of any with this design. 
This piece is at the Toledo Museum of Fine Arts. 


Figure 199, page 335. 


[ 320 ] 


OVDe GO LZA,38'5 






HILLOG GNV SASVTA 


“SLT 


iG | 





(82 26n¢ 299) 











—s 


fies 2 ta 


a 


OLD GLASS 





Fig. 180. THREE-SECTION MOULD DECANTER 
Fig. 179. FLASKS WITH PEWTER TOPS 
(See pages 288 and 306) 


lax22c 


Ont ab) Tea Loss 











GROUP OF THREE-SECTION MOULD GLASS 


Fig. 181. 


(See page 306) 


ee 
OLD GLASS 


sesso: 





Fig. 182, SUGAR BOWL, BUSWELL COLLECTION 


Fig. 183, THREE-SECTION MOULD PITCHERS 
(See page 306) 


[ 324] 





OD e GEASS 





feeeey ees et. Pip, 184.2 FLIP GLASS . i 
Fig. 185. BARREL-SHAPED GLASS ~~ Fig. 186. WINE GLASS 
(See sage 307) 


sets) 





OL DaeG Eas 





Fig. 187, GLASS ASCRIBED TO NEW HANOVER, N. J. 
Fig. 188. STODDARD, N. H., BOTTLES » 
(See pages 307 and 308) 


[ 326 ] 


Orne Gr Ars 


STLLLOG “H ‘N ‘Cuvdado.Ls 


"681 ‘Sty 


(60€ 2nd 299) 





(3278) 


$$$ hehehehe nS 


OLD -GLASS 
EE nv, 


TRE. PESRORULETER MUREOR Be 
ge Say ce ee 





Fig. 190. TWO STODDARD PITCHERS 
(See page 309) 


[ 328 ] 





OLD. GUASS 





Fig. 191. TWO STODDARD INKSTANDS 
Fig. 192, TWO CLEAR GLASS HATS 
See pages 309 and 310) 


[ 329 ] 





OLD GLASS 








Fig. 193. RUINS OF PITKIN FACTORY 


Fig. 194, PITKIN GLASS 
(Ser pages 315 and 316) 


[es303) 


Oise Glas S 


SAaLV1d df 


O AO dNOUO 


S61 


Bi] 


(LEE puv OE 


SI¢ sabvg 29g) 





[ 331 ] 





OL Daa LAAs 


‘3 ‘ 3 
$ i i iB ig 
“ 
e A gba 
4 & xi ‘4 
y. 4 
v4 + 
el f 
ty x 


“a 
\ 
f 


cise 


SiSiSissy 
easter J 





Fig. 196. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN CUP PLATES 
Upper—Genuine, White. 
Lower—Counterfeit, Blue. 


(See page 318) 


[ 332] 


OUDAGLASS 


NOILOLILSNOOD G2LVOTdd °46T 


“SI 


y 


soe, 
R24 EE i 
Pace arire btae 
; rk: High Se: 


(gig 24v¢ 29g) 





[ 333 J 





OLD GLASS 


Fig. 198, GROUP OF CUP PLATES 
319 and 320) 


[334] 











Oe De Glass 


SMYOM AANLIHM 


¢ 


ALLLOG AAMSIHNM AONV ALVId V 


(oze abv¢ 399) 
AL NIGVO-DOT ‘661 314 





] 


335 


[ 


OTD GLASS 


Sst 


‘SHUOM-SSVTID HOIMANVS 




























































































































































































[ 336 | 





HISTORIC CUP PLATES 





In addition to these historic cup plates there are 
many others which are extremely pretty, like the heart 
and dart design, some of which are assigned to Sand- 
wich. Some are comic, like the one in Figure 195, with 
its lettering, ‘“[The wedding day and three weeks after.” 

It is possible, if all the patterns with their variations 
are found, to build up a collection of about forty 
historic designs alone. If you include others which 
rely on their decorative quality for their value, you are 
embarked on a search which practically has no end. 

Unfortunately, like so many other things which are 
esteemed by the collector, these little glass trifles are 
being duplicated, and wary must be he or she who does 
not, unawares, allow some of these frauds to creep in 
among the veritable old ones. 


Figure 195, page 331. 


[ 337] 


SANDWICH GLASS 


HE study of Sandwich glass and the gathering 
of collections of it are occupying many col- 
lectors at present. By the term “Sandwich,” 

pressed glass is usually intended, though the Boston and 
Sandwich Glass Co. made both blown and cut-glass 
as well. A view of the works in 1835 is shown in 
Figure 200. 

The name of Deming Jarves is closely bound up in 
the history of Sandwich glass, which is so much of a 
mystery. As to the correct dating of various pat- 
terns, whether or not they were made at Sandwich or 
the rival factory at New Bedford, Massachusetts, there 
is no information at hand. 

There is a story about a carpenter inventing the first 
moulds used for pressed glass in this country, and that 
they were used at Sandwich, but like so many other tales 
about glass, it lacks confirmation. Deming Jarves says 
in his book on American Glass, that as early as 1815 
he imported “pressed glass” from both England and 
Holland. He specifies salts, candlesticks, bowls, etc., 
and further states that from 1814 to 1838 “no improve- 
ment was made in this process.” In passing it may not 
be amiss to say that some of those pressed glass articles 


from England and Holland were no doubt responsible 
Figure 200, page 336. 


[ 338 J 


SANDWICH GLASS 


for the dolphin which was used so freely in the Sand- 
wich glass candlesticks, compotes, and other pieces. In 
Figure 201 are shown a group of these candlesticks, 
clear, canary, peacock and opalescent. They belong to 
Mrs. George W. Mitton, of Jamaica Plain, Massachu- 
setts, whose fine collection of Sandwich glass is known 
to all who are interested in this beautiful product. 

Dolphins were a favourite form of decoration with 
glass-makers as far back as the Middle Ages, among 
the Muranese workers at Venice, and were copied by 
glass-makers everywhere. 

Deming Jarves was not only a glass manufacturer but 
an inventor as well, particularly of articles for glass- 
makers’ use. On February 2, 1821, from Boston he 
took out a patent for a “machine for opening glass- 
blowers moulds.” On December 1, 1828, from Boston, 
he obtained a patent for a method of “pressing melted 
glass into moulds.” On June 13, 1829, and on October 
19, 1830, he took out two patents for “Glass Knobs.” 
On May 28, 1830, he took out one for a “glass-makers 
mould.” 

I have not been able to get descriptions of these pat- 
ents from the Patent Office at Washington. The Patent 
Office Report, which is the earliest Patent Office publi- 
cation, does not go back of 1846. They are not num- 
bered, these early patents of Deming Jarves, and are 
buried deep in the Patent Office archives, if the subject 


matter is there at all. 
Figure 201, page 353. 


[ 339 ] 





OLD GLASS 





In October, 1846, he took out a patent for a glass 
furnace; this patent is numbered, 4783. It is interest- 
ing because it is for “a new and useful Improvement in 
Glass Furnaces, by which they may be operated by 
anthracite coal.” 

An article appeared in the Boston Transcript, Sep- 
tember 4, 1920, by Charles Messer Stow, which gives 
to a certain extent the history of glass-making at Sand- 
wich, Massachusetts, which covered a period from 
1825 to 1888. This information is substantiated by a 
letter which I have received from Mr. George E. Bur- 
bank, a lifelong resident of Sandwich. 

As to the beginnings of the industry, Mr. Stow states: 
“Early in 1825 a Boston man named Deming Jarves 

. called a meeting of the citizens of Sandwich, and 
told them that, if there was sufficient interest manifest 
in Sandwich, he would build a glass-works there.” 

Mr. Jarves himself writes of the start: “Ground was 
broke in April, 1825, dwellings for the workmen built 
and manufactory completed ; and on the Fourth of July, 
three months from the first breaking of ground com- 
menced blowing glass.” 

The start was modest, only an eight-pot furnace hold- 
ing 800 pounds each, 7,000 pounds weekly. 

Mr. Stow continues: “The location at Sandwich was 
not on account of the sand, but that there was a large 
amount of timber available near by, and the works used 
wood for fuel. The policy of Mr. Jarves was to buy 


[ 340 ] 





SANDWICH GLASS 





land with timber on it, and the agent who was in 
charge of the works, besides having authority to buy 
land, had also the duty of seeing to the erection of the 
workmen’s houses. It seems that he exceeded his au- 
thority somewhat, and soon Mr. Jarves found that he 
needed more capital than he possessed to carry out the 
ambitious plans which had been developed. ‘There- 
fore he formed a stock company, and the ‘Boston and 
Sandwich Glass Company,’ was incorporated on 
February 22, 1826, by Deming Jarves, Henry Rice, 
Andrew T. Hall and Edward Monroe. At this time 
from 60 to 70 men were employed and the manufactured 
goods amounted to about $75,000 worth. ‘The glass- 
works prospered from the start and regularly and 
gradually expanded, employing more and more men, 
and turning out more and more glass.” 

In a paper by A. F. Dorflinger called “Development 
of the Cut Glass Business in the United States,” 1902, 
he says that the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company 
used 3,000 cords of wood yearly. When they increased 
the size of the furnace to four furnaces of ten pots 
each, the amount of wood consumed was much greater. 
No wonder Mr. Jarves busied himself in inventing 
and perfecting a furnace for glass that would burn coal: 
“the importance of a furnace in which this kind of 
fuel can be used to advantage, will be apparent to every 
glass manufacturer,” says Jarves himself. 

“By 1854 the capitalization had reached $400,000 


[ 341 | 





OLD GLASS 





and five hundred men and boys were employed, and the 
value of the goods manufactured each year was $600,- 
000.” The company looked out well for its workmen. 
Houses were built which were sold on the installment 
plan, but which the workmen were allowed to occupy 
at once. Stores were opened. More and more land 
was bought, and Sandwich town prospered on account 
of the glass-works. 

- “From 1825 to 1858 the finished product was trans- 
ported to Boston entirely by water and the company 
owned the sloop ‘Polly’ which was able to come up a 
small creek almost to the door of the factory. In 1858 
what is said to have been the first railroad of its kind in 
the United States was built to carry the barrels of 
finished product from the factory to the wharf, farther 
away from the landing on the creek, for that was to be 
negotiated only at high tide, and the growing business 
of the company demanded more frequent transportation 
than the tide afforded. In later years the company 
bought the steamer ‘Acorn’ and used it to compete with 
the Old Colony Railroad and drive down freight 
rates;ao. 

It is generally assumed that the pressed glass found 
in Boston and vicinity is Sandwich, and that found in 
Pennsylvania was made in that state. But an immense 
amount must have been distributed all over the country 
by means of the annual auction sales. It is interesting 


*Stow. 


[ 342] 





SANDWICH GLASS 


to note that Jarves himself did not claim for the Boston 
and Sandwich Glass Company superiority in the pressed 
glass line. He says in his book, published 186s, that 
“James B. Lyon and Co. of Pittsburgh are conceded to 
have made the choicest pressed glass, which was of 
such a superior quality that it was difficult to tell it 
from cut.” 

The Boston and Sandwich Glass Company was not 
the only one in which Deming Jarves was interested. 
In 1837 he started the Mt. Washington Glass Company 
in South Boston for his son George D. Jarves. A large 
shop for glass-cutting was run in connection with the 
glass-works. By 1840 they were making cut-glass 
bowls, salts, dishes, sugars and creamers, tumblers, 
stemware, decanters, lamps and globes. In 1850 the 
business was transferred to Jarves and Commerais. 
They started off with great éclat, but the business only 
lasted about ten years. A man named Patrick Slane 
tried to revive the works, but they were finally burned 
down.* 

Getting his son started did not absorb all of Jarves’ 
time. In 1850 a glass bowl was made and presented to 
Daniel Webster by the Boston and Sandwich Glass 
Company. In an accompanying letter by Mr. Jarves, 
he says regarding the bowl: “It claims the merit of 
being much the largest piece of flint glass made by 
machinery in any part of the world. Two machinists 


* Dorflinger. 


[ 343 J 





OLD GLASS 


were employed six months in forming the mould. This 
bowl 1s the first made in this mould, and it is called ‘the 
Union Bowl.’ The name will not render it any less 
valuable.” * There are no traces anywhere of this bowl 
or any made in this mould. 

Deming Jarves remained with the Boston and Sand- 
wich Glass Company till 1858. Then, after a quarrel 
with the directors, he withdrew, formed the Cape Cod 
Glass Works, to run in competition with the Boston 
and Sandwich Company. But this company was never 
very strong, and it only continued a short time after 
the death of Jarves in 1869. 

The Boston and Sandwich Glass Company made a 
fine quality of flint glass. They used much good lead 
and the result was a clear ring to the glass when struck. 
Figures 202 and 203 show examples of their clear and 
frosted glass; they belong to the collection of Mrs. 
G. W. Mitton, of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. 

“During its long career from 1825 to 1888 the works 
at Sandwich turned out glass of all sorts for all sorts 
of uses. In the early days came the pressed articles 
which are now in demand. Also some of the curious 
millefiori paper-weights. Later it made full sets for the 
table, goblets, tumblers and all kinds of wine glasses, 
with finger bowls and other accessories. ‘These were 
plain, cut, etched, or engraved. About 1860 the man- 
agement sent a man to Europe to study the process of 


* History of Cape Cod. 
Figures 202 and 203, pages 354 and 355. 


[ 344 ] 





SANDWICH GLASS - 





acid etching and he brought back a machine which was 
used to the company’s profit both for table-ware and 
commercial purposes. At one time the company were 
turning out glass shades in between forty and fifty pat- 
terns, and many of these were etched.” * 

To the collector the most desirable product from 
Sandwich is the coloured glass. Mr. Stow says that 
some of the opal glass lamp-shades were from six to 
‘sixteen inches across and very difficult to blow. Be- 
sides the opal there was much ruby glass turned out, 
and it was coloured by the use of gold, which gives it 
a brownish cast in some lights. They made some shades 
in ruby, too, and many perfume bottles. A pair of 
these is shown in Figure 204. They are at the Metro- 
politan Museum. In Figure 205 are shown two de- 
canters, honey-coloured and amethyst. They belong to 
the Toledo Museum. 

“The stockholders of the B. & S. Glass Co. have 
reduced the capital stock from $400,000 to $200,000. 
It is stated that the introduction of the company’s goods 
into the West Indies promises to build up a consider- 
able business for them.” Tf 

The company’s export business became very large. 
In later years the lamps they turned out went all over 
the world. They made cruets for various uses and 
tumblers, “at one time 500 tumblers every five-hour 


*Stow. + American Pottery & Glassware Reporter, 1879. 
Figures 204 and 205, page 356. 


[ 345 ] 





OLD GLASS 





shift, and bottles and jars of all sizes.” Figures 206 and 
207. 

By 1880 the little town of Sandwich saw nothing but 
prosperity ahead. The Boston and Sandwich Glass 
Company were employing about 300 men and boys, at 
wages varying from four to six dollars a day. ‘Most 
of the men owned their homes, there was plenty of 
work, and they had confidence that the ‘Flint Glass 
Workers Union’ to which they belonged would assure 
them a continued prosperity for an indefinite time.” 
But for mutual protection and trade advantages the 
Sandwich Company and other glass manufacturers 
formed the Flint Glass Manufacturers’ Association. 

At the end of December, 1887, the Association drew 
up an agreement which was presented to the workmen 
at the various factories. The men of Sandwich refused 
to accept it, and the glass company, which had been 
running at a loss for some time, issued an ultimatum. 
If the fires were allowed to go out they would never be 
relighted. But the men did not believe this. So the 
fires went out, the plant was closed and has never been 
reopened. 

The buildings stood till 1920, when they were torn 
down to make place for a factory where wood pulp and 
Soap were to be made. The old building where Deming 
Jarves started the Cape Cod Works has been altered 
into a plant for cutting veneer. 


The closing of the works brought great hardship to 
Figures 206 and 207, pages 356 and 357. 


[ 346] 








SANDWICH GLASS 





the glass-blowers and their families. Many of them 
owned their own houses and had grown up in the 
business. There was no demand for so many houses, 
and many lost the savings of years, and no doubt when 
too late regretted listening to the trouble-makers. 

Ten of the men did not leave Sandwich to look for 
work elsewhere. They formed the Sandwich Co- 
operative Glass Company in 1888, put up a building 
and went to work. The venture was a failure. 

There are few of the Sandwich pieces which can 
have definite dates of manufacture assigned to them. As 
far as any one knows, the little boat-shaped salt, marked 
“B & S Glass Co.” and “Sandwich” on the bottom 1s 
the earliest. There is much discussion as to why it is 
lettered “Lafayet,” but it seems to be a matter of lack 
of space for more letters, and it sounded all right when 
pronounced. 

Through the kindness of Antiques, three views of 
this little salt are given, in Figure 208. It is much to 
be regretted that the works dropped the admirable idea 
of marking their product; collectors who call their 
treasures “Sandwich” just because it is pressed would 
never have got in the running. 

It is customary to say that the Boston and Sandwich 
Glass Company made pressed glass from 1825 to 1888. 
But from 1860 to the close of the works they made 
blown table-ware in great variety, cut-glass of more 

Figure 208, page 358. 


[ 347 ] 





OLD GLASS 





or less excellence, Figure 209, and great numbers of 
lamp-shades. 

“Boston and Sandwich Glass Co. (factory at Sand- 
wich, Mass.) are running one eleven pot furnace. The 
manufacture consists principally of blown and pressed 
tableware, bar and fancy goods, together with a large 
line of decorated shades, crystal chandeliers, gas globes, 
etc. In ordinary pressed ware they have been unable 
to compete with Western factories, and are giving 
particular attention to the production of cut, etched, 
silvered and decorated wares.” * 

Although I have placed Sandwich glass last in these 
brief sketches of early American glass, it should by 
rights be among the leaders. But hope springs eternal, 
and all the years I have spent trying to learn about glass 
have been cheered by the idea that somehow, some- 
where, I should find authentic data of what goods were 
made at Sandwich in pressed glass. But I have not 
been successful. Hundreds of letters, following up 
clues of every description, advertising for information, 
searching newspapers and getting others to search also, 
in hopes of finding an advertisement putting forth lists 
of goods made by the Boston and Sandwich Glass Com- 
pany have brought nothing definite. 

So I am giving as illustrations pieces from such well- 
known collections as that of Mrs. George W. Mitton, 
of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, who has studied and 


* American Pottery & Glassware Reporter, 1879. 
Figure 209, page 359. 


[ 348 ] 


SAAS. SECM, tn 
SANDWICH GLASS 
in 


handled hundreds of pieces of this glass; from the 
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; from the 
Toledo Museum of Fine Arts; and from Antiques, 
published in Boston. In Figures 210 and 211 are given 
some specimens of opaque white, clear and clear and 
coloured glass. The little compote in 210 is at the 
Metropolitan Museum, and the pieces in 211 at the 
Toledo Museum. 

The Sandwich salts alone would form a collection 
of great beauty, for they range in colour from clear 
glass to a rich dark green, deep blue, and many shades 
from honey to amber. Few collectors have secured as 
many and as perfect pieces as Mrs. Mitton, and she 
owns numbers of specimens of that splendid shade of 
purple which was made at Sandwich, generally in ob- 
jects of worth and fine design. All the pieces shown 
in Figure 207 are in this royal purple and canary yel- 
low, which, by the way, no real collector would ever 
call vaseline, a dealer’s term. In Figure 212 the com- 
pote in the upper row is ruby, the swan’s yellow and 
opalescent, the candlestick deep amber, and the celery 
holder deep purple. 

Of course the pitcher in the lower row is the most 
unusual of all, and is deep green flecked with gold, and 
the dolphins at the base are opal. Mrs. Mitton classes 
this as Sandwich because there are other gold flecked 
pieces which are supposed to have been made there. 


Figure 213 shows some of the lamps which were 
Figures 210-213, pages 360-3762. 


[ 349 J 


SSS 
OLD GLAS§ 


a 
made in such numbers at Sandwich. All of them in 
this picture are coloured, medium sapphire, purple and 
canary yellow. The candlestick in the centre is pur- 
ple, and the two on either side are dark blue. The 
covered dish is canary and the two openwork dishes 
are one blue and one green. 

Deming Jarves, writing in 1854 concerning the con- 
dition of the glass industry in the United States, says: 
“In enumerating all the concerns, companies and cor- 
porations that have been engaged in the manufacture 
of flint glass in the Atlantic States, we find that the 
number is forty-two, of which number two concerns 
have retired and ten are now in operation: Viz., two at 
East Cambridge, three at South Boston, one at Sand- 
wich, three near New York City, and one at Philadel- 
phia. This leaves two concerns who retired with 
Property, and twenty-eight out of forty-two concerns, 
entire failures, the fate of the remaining ten to be 
determined by future events.” 

The business both local and export was so large there 
seems to have been little advertising done. A store in 
Boston was maintained from 1830 to 1888 at different 
addresses in Milk, Federal and Franklin streets. From 
1874. to 1884 they had stores at 164 Devonshire and 21 
Federal streets, but persistent search of the files of 
newspapers of the day have yielded nothing, so far. 

Here I leave these fragments, in hopes that the next 
searcher may go farther and fare better, 


[ 350] 


MEXICAN GLASS 


gy ANY people are familiar with the decorative 
arts of Mexico—pottery, jewelry, rug-mak- 
ing and baskets. Less well-known, however, 
is the glassware, which is not only beautifully incised 
or carved, but further enriched with painting, chiefly 
in gold. 
_ It appears that the making of glass began in Mexico 
soon after the conquest. It became an important in- 
dustry, and continued so for two hundred years. 

In a Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Museum for 1908, 
the late Dr. E. A. Barber declares that in his opinion 
this style of glass was made at Puebla, Mexico. A 
group of this glass belonging to the Pennsylvania 
Museum of Fine Arts, Figure 214, speaks for itself as to 
its beauty. 

To support Dr. Barber’s contention as to the source 
of this glass he quotes from “A New Survey of the 
Indies,” written by Thomas Gage in 1648. This writer 
states that there was a glass-house at Puebla at that 
date, and that it was a rarity, none other being known, 

Another writer, Betancurt, 1698, says that the glass. 
ware of Puebla surpassed that of all New Spain. Frey 
Juan Villa Sanchez, writing in 1745, declares that the 
glassware made in Puebla was not duplicated anywhere 


else in the kingdom, and equals that of Venice. 
Figure 214, page 363. 


[351] 


OLD GLASS 
a 

Some very pleasing specimens are shown in F igures 
21, 216, 217. They belong to the Metropolitan Mu- 
seum of Art. Besides these examples at the Pennsyl- 
vania Museum and at the Metropolitan there are some 
pieces at the Smithsonian Museum at Washington, 
D.C. They are of similar incised and gilt decoration, 
and consist of a pitcher and covered dish. 

The card attached reads, “Presented to Major-Gen- 
eral E. O’'C. Ord, U. S. Army, in 1881, by Manuel 
Gonzales, President of Mexico.” They are loaned to 
the Smithsonian Museum by Captain J. T. Ord, U. S. 
Volunteers. 

Glass is still made in Mexico, at Puebla, but the 
wares are simple flasks, bottles and drinking vessels. 
They are generally clear in colour, and of pleasing 
shapes, but there is none made now in cut and gilded 
style. 

Some of the modern glass is shown in Figure 218. 

Many inquiries as to the best way to clean old glass 
have been sent to me. The following has been recom- 
mended, though some strong soap diluted with water, 
shaken well in the glass object with a handful of shot, 
has always answered the purpose for me. 

“To clean glassware: Break a few raw egg-shells 
into the article to be cleaned, with a little cold water, 
warm water if the article is greasy, shake well and 
rinse with fresh water. The glass will shine.” 


Figures 215-218, pages 363-364. 


[ 352] 


a E————————— ee 


OLD GLASS 





Fig. 201. SANDWICH GLASS DOLPHINS 
(See page 339) 


[353] 





OLD GLASS 





Fig. 202. CLEAR SANDWICH GLASS 
(See page 344) 


[ 354 ] 


en SSS, 


OPA Der Gi Ais.s 


rss 





Fig. 203. CLEAR AND FROSTED SANDWICH GLASS 
(See page 344) 


[355 ] 


EME METROPOLITAR Mus 
QF sey 





Fig. 204. RUBY SANDWICH GLASS Fig. 206. SANDWICH 
GOBLET 


Fig. 205. AMETHYST AND HONEY-COLOURED DECANTERS 
(See pages 345 and 346) 
[ 356] 





Ol Dae AS 


———— 





Fig. 207, SANDWICH JUG AND CELERY GLASSES 
(See page 346) 


[ 357 ] 





OLD, GEASS 





Fig. 208. B. & S. BOAT-SHAPED SALT-CELLAR 
(See page 347) 


[ 358 ] 


Orn D eG LASS 


HOIMGNVYS ‘SSVTID 





"602 “SIT 


(gt¢ abv 329) 





[ 359 | 


eg eeeenssecensernssmnssese geen 


OLD GLASS . 
RR , , , 





Fig. 210. OPAQUE SANDWICH GLASS 
Fig. 211. OPAQUE AND CLEAR SANDWICH GLASS 
(See page 349) 





ee 
CORTE ee Gr l-ArouS 





Fig. 212, COLOURED SANDWICH GLASS 
(See page 349) 


[ 361 ] 


ORD SS Ge ios 





SANDWICH GLASS 


ig. 213; 


F 


(See page 349) 


[ 362 ] 





OD Gril ALS Ss 





Fig. 215. MEXICAN PITCHER 
Fig. 214. GROUP OF MEXICAN GLASS 
(See pages 351 and 352) 


[ 363 ] 





OLD G LAs 





Fig. 216. MEXICAN Fig. 217. MEXICAN VASE 
COVERED VASE 


Fig. 218. MODERN MEXICAN GLASS 
(See page 352) 


[ 364 | 


ee Geen 


DP 


a 


/ DVEDGALD 


2d 


612 ‘Sly 


f° 


U9 UdIDUISUA IY JD TLOAGd MT 





(588 ce. Sue ie 
(388046 80 
ran 


(¢Z£¢ abvg 2a9) 


a — 
fo seqwogy ssn 34g fo mary 
: : aes : <lie ue ELA A 





[365 4 


Onn DG LAS > 


“ber vlay 
0, fH [0 1 


SMYOM SS¥YID CIO AO MOWALNI 





ASU UPI ty 1 Piypy DUYCHI WUD DIUIWUAYY SL) poli 
(Oe) fe VOUT FOV 
2 ‘4 


022 “SI 


4 AEM 
& 


(-l¢ 26nd 399) 


tf Ny, 4 


€ 


“C8 Viens 





[ 366 | 


SS SSD 


Ore Gr Ata 





Fig. 222, EARLY DECANTERS 
(See page 379) 


[ 367 | 


eee 





OLD GLASS 





Fig. 221. GLASS FROM KENSINGTON GLASS WORKS 
Fig. 223. CUT-GLASS BY CRAIG RITCHIE 


(See pages 376 and 382) 
} [ 368 | 


AMERICAN GLASS FACTORIES 


HIS list has been gathered from newspapers, 
town records, histories, gazeteers, county publi. 
cations, anywhere in fact that they could be 

found. In some cases where the records overlap the 
dates vary a little, but I have left them as I have found 
them. My intention was not to list anything later than 
1850, but in some cases where operation has continued 
I have set it down. The list is far from complete, but 
it is at least a step towards gathering the records of 
this early and interesting industry. 


ApaAms Gtass Co. Incorporated, 1812, in the town of Adams, Mass. 

ALBANY, N. Y. Van Rensselaer Glass Works, said to have been opened as 
early as 1807. 

ALBANY GLAss Works. See Guilderland. 

ALEXANDRIA, VA. Glass works established, 1787. M. De Warville visited 
these works in 1788 and declares five hundred hands were employed. 

A.LLowaysTown, N. J. See account of Caspar Wistar. 

AMELUNG, A. F. Frederickstown, Md. Glass factory established in 1797. 
Some of his German workmen started to cross the mountains to build a 
glass-works at what is now Louisville, Ky., but were stopped and taken 
to New Geneva, Pa., by Albert Gallatin. Amelung is said to have 
presented to General Washington two flint glass goblets made at his 
works. 

BAKEWELL AND PaGE. Some Germans started a glass factory in Fredericks- 
town, Md., which was soon abandoned. They went to Pittsburgh and 
started again, but were unsuccessful here. In 1808 this plant was taken 
up and run by Bakewell and Page, with one furnace of six twenty-inch 
pots, followed in 1814 by a ten-pot furnace. In Cramer’s Navigator 
for 1813, it states in connection with Bakewell and Page that they 
have lately built another flint glass house, making two that they have 


[ 369 ] 





OLD GLASS 





in operation, and that “glass-cutting is likewise executed in this place, 
not inferior to the best cut-glass in Europe.” A German named Eich- 
baum is said to have started a cutting-shop in Pittsburgh in 1809, and 
obtained his glass from Bakewell and Page. 

The firm name was Bakewell and Anderson, 1820. Bakewell 
and Co., 1824. The works were burned down in 1845, but were 
rebuilt, and were operated under the name of Bakewell, Pears and Co., 
till about 1880. In 1879 they advertise in the Pottery and Glassware 
Reporter that they are: “Manufacturers of Crystal and Opal glass 
Table-ware, Bar Furniture, Druggists’ Furniture in Crystal and Flint. 
Gas, Kerosene, Opal, Cone Shades, Globes, Smoke-bells, Round Orna- 
mental Shades and Flint Glass Chimneys. Lantern Glasses and all 
Kinds of Blown and Pressed Ware made to order.” 

BALTIMORE GLass Works. 1790. Established on a branch of the Patapsco 
River, at a place known as Spring Gardens. Another branch was 
started at about the same time at Federal Hill, Hughes Street. They 
made both amber and aquamarine bottles, which were marked “Balti- 
more,” and “Glassworks.” Washington design. The present works 
date from 1853, and they started to make flint glass in 1873. 

BELTZHOOVER AND WENDT Co. 1813. Birmingham, Pa. 

Boston Crown Grass Co. In July, 1787, Messrs. Whalley, Hunnewell 
and Co. received a charter allowing them the exclusive right to make 
glass in Massachusetts for fifteen years, and a fine of £500 was attached 
to any infringement of this right. Work was not really begun till 1792 
owing to the difficulty in obtaining workmen, etc. In 1811 works in 
Essex Street were erected, but the War of 1812 prevented the successful 
operation of the works, but they were operated later, only to fail 
in 1826. 

BripGETON, N. J. Glass-works established by Stratton, Buck and Co., 1837, 
and run till 1841. Operated under the name of Joel Bodine and Sons, 
1848-1855. At latter date works were purchased by Potter and Bodine, 
and then a stock company was formed called the “Cohansey Glass 
Manufacturing Co.” Made flasks in aquamarine with Washington 
design, marked “Bridgeton, New Jersey.” 

BrooKLtyn. Loderwick Bamper. 1754. 

Brown’s Pines, N. J. 1800. 

BRowNnsviLLE, Pa. According to the memorial sent to Congress in 1831 
there were “four or five glass-works” at Brownsville. 

CHELMsFoRD, Mass. Window glass was made as early as 1802 in Chelms- 
fordtown at Middlesex village, by Hunnewell and Gore of Boston. This 
town is now a part of Lowell. In 1820, according to Allen’s “History 


[ 370] 


a re re SAE SS 


AMERICAN GLASS FACTORIES 
a 


of Chelmsford,” the works were in a flourishing condition, but they 
failed in 1826-27 and about this time were burned down. In 1828 the 
works were rebuilt, but were apparently unprofitable, since in 1839 the 
works were abandoned, and the company moved to Suncook village, 
Pembroke, N. H. On July 4, 1839, the Chelmsford Glass Co., Pembroke, 
N. H., was incorporated to make glassware, window glass, and glass 
plates. All trace and record of this glass-works has disappeared, except 
that there is still a street in the town called Glass Street. The New 
Hampshire Historical Society, at Concord, N. H., owns two or three 
specimens of this glass which came from residents of the tewn of 
Pembroke. They are described as of a “beautiful light green colour 
and fine texture.” 

CHESHIRE CROwN Grass Works. Cheshire, Mass. In 1812 a factory was 
started here to make window glass. In 1852 the product was changed 
to plate glass. They operated only about two months, and then moved 
to Brooklyn, N. Y. 

CuHEsTER GLass COMPANY. Chester, Mass. The factory was started here 
in 1812, was incorporated in 1814. This company as well as the pre- 
ceding one used the local sand, which was of excellent quality. 

Crarx’s Grass Works Washington, D.C. 1837. 

CotumsiA, N. J. 1812-1833. Window glass only. 

Corninc Grass Works. Corning, N. Y. In 1852 Amory Houghton, Sr., 
built and operated the Union Glass Works at Somerville, Mass., and 
ran them till 1864. He then sold out and bought the South Ferry Glass 
Works in Brooklyn, N. Y. He ran these till 1868, when he moved them 
to Corning, N. Y. In 1875 the business was reorganized under the name 
of the “Corning Glass Works,” and is still in operation. They make 
exquisite glass of all kinds, particularly in colours. 

Coventry, Conn. The Coventry Glass Works were organised by some 
citizens of that place as a stock company, in 1813. They made hollow 
ware, decanters and tumblers, and later, flasks with designs on them, 
snuff jars and inkstands. In 1820 the business passed into other hands, 
and from 1820 to 1830 it was operated by Thomas Stebbins and his 
successors, Stebbins and Chamberlin. In 1830 Gilbert Turner and Co. 
purchased the plant and worked it till 1848, when the supply of fuel, 
wood, gave out, and the works were closed. They made some of the 
earliest historic flasks, Lafayette and DeWitt Clinton, to commemorate 
the opening of the Erie Canal, 1825. These flasks are marked “S. & C.” 
and “Coventry C-T.” 

Craic anp O’HarA. Pittsburgh, Pa. They opened glass-works in 1797. The 
site has been occupied continuously by glass-works. In 1880 they were 
called the Point Bridge Works, of Thomas Wightman and Co. It was 


i371) 





OLDS Glass 





one of the first works to use coal. Up to 1810 no glass-houses except 
those in Pittsburgh used coal. 

Crystal Glass Co., Pittsburgh, Pa., made much household glass with 
a beehive. Sometimes below it was the motto, “Be industrious.” Also 
bread-trays with a sheaf of wheat, oval; and they were constantly 
adding to their list of patterns. They made in 1880 “butter plates” 
with portraits of James A. Garfield and Winfield S. Hancock. 

CUNNINGHAM AND Co., Pittsburgh. There is a bottle with the design of an 
Indian, marked with this name. 

CURLING AND Price. Pittsburgh. ‘They operated in 1828 what was known 
as Fort Pitt Glass Works. They were succeeded by E. D. Dithridge 
and Co., who were bought out by F. Lorenz, and he was succeeded by 
Thomas Wightman & Co. 

“The Rev. Dr. Berley wrote to the St. Louis Democrat, 1879, that he 
baptised Henry Clay in his parlour at Ashland, at the same time ad- 
ministering this ordinance to his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Thomas Clay, 
on the 22nd of June, 1847, a few special friends being present. The 
water was applied by the hand out of a large cut-glass urn, which, 
among his many presents, had been given him by a manufacturer in 
Pittsburgh, Pa. It is said this urn was the largest piece of cut-glass 
then known. Mr. Clay was then seventy years old. He was sub- 
sequently publicly confirmed in the church. ‘This piece of glass was 
made at the old Fort Pitt factory on Washington Street, then operated 
by Curling, Robinson & Co., in 1844, by Edward Dithridge, and pre- 
sented by Mr. Curling to Henry Clay. It was the largest piece of cut- 
glassware which had been made at the time, and few have excelled it 
in either size or appearance. These facts we get from Mr. E. D. 
Dithridge, of the Dithridge Chimney Co., Ltd., son of the man who 
made the urn.”—American Pottery and Glassware Reporter. 

Kate Field’s “Romance of Glass Making” shows the glass bowl 
used by Henry Clay in 1840. It was exhibited at the Chicago World’s 
Fair, 1893, side by side with a piece of modern cut-glass, one of those 
over-cut pieces of heavy glass which were so popular at the moment. 
The picture of these two pieces is in Miss Field’s little book, and a 
mere look establishes the superiority of the former. 

Washington Beck during the 70’s made many moulds of dishes and 
other pressed glass objects in “crystallo style” for the Fort Pitt works. 

DENNY AND BEELEN. Pittsburgh. 1800. They built a glass-works on the 
north side of the Ohio, in that part of Allegheny known as Manchester. 

DorFLEIN, Pur. Philadelphia. .Was a mould-maker for bottles and other 
glassware from 1842 to 1900. 

DOoRFLINGER, CHRISTOPHER. 1852. In this year Mr. Dorflinger organized a 


[372] 


ee 
AMERICAN GLASS FACTORIES 
rr 
firm in Brooklyn. Early in the 60’s he built the Greenpoint Works, and 
Hoare and Daily worked a cutting-shop in connection. In 1867 the 
White Mills Works were built which are still in operation. 

DumMER, GEORGE AND P. C. In 1824 they began to build a flint glass works 
in Jersey City. These works continued making glass for forty years, 
but were discontinued about 1860. 

DunsarTon, N. Y. Oneida County. Had a glass-works about 1802. 

DuRHAMVILLE, N. Y. Oneida County. Also had a glass-works about the 
same time. 

DyYorTviLLE Giass Works. Kensington, Pa., 1771. (See Figure 219.) They 
were founded by Robert Towars, leather dresser, and Joseph Leacock, 
watchmaker, on Bank Street. The next year the premises were sold 
to John and Samuel Elliot, who took Isaac Gray into partnership. 
They built additional furnaces and made bottles chiefly. In 1780 the 
property was sold to Thomas Leiper, tobacconist, who made bottles for 
his snuff. He kept the place twenty years. In 1800 the owners were 
Joseph Roberts, Jr., James Butland and James Rowland. They did 
business under the name of Butland and Co. In 1804, Rowland became 
owner and under the firm name of James Rowland and Co. they were 
operated till 1833. In this year they were bought by Dr. Thomas W. 
Dyott, who in 1838 was convicted of fraudulent insolvency, and the 
works were idle for some years. In 1843 they were leased by Henry 
Benners and under different owners have been in operation ever since. 

Among the things made by Dr. Dyott when he was operating the 
Kensington works were three patterns of bottles, and on each of them 
he placed a portrait bust of himself in connection with some American 
patriot. Two of these bottles or flasks show the portrait of Benjamin 
Franklin, and on the reverse, T. W. Dyott; and on the third is a 
portrait of Washington, reverse, American eagle with shield, arrows, 
etc., perched on an oval which contains the initials “T. W. D.” Around 
the edge is the inscription, “Kensington Glass Works, Philadelphia.” 
On the other side is “Adams and Jefferson, July 4, a. D., 1776.” As late 
as 1831 the furnaces were crude affairs, designed to run only six months 
in the year. At this time the Dyottville factory was the most extensive 
in the United States, melting about 800 Ibs. of batch a day and pro- 
ducing vials, bottles, shop furniture, etc. In 1833 this works had five 
furnaces and from 250 to 300 men and boys were constantly employed. 
A contemporary picture of the works is shown in Figure 219. 

Dr. Dyott believed in the virtues of advertising, and the following 
setting forth his wares is taken from The United States Gazette and 
True American, for January 2, 1833: 

“The Subscriber respectfully informs his friends and the public, that 

Figure 219, page 365. 


[ 373] 





OLD GLASS 





his glass factories at Kensington are now in full operation.” They 
made not only window glass but the following hollow wares: 

“Apothecaries’ Vials from one half to eight oz., Patent Medicine 
bottles, Mustard, Cayenne Pepper, Olives, Anchovies, Sweet Oil, Seltzer, 
and Cologne Water bottles, Scotch, Rappee and Maccabow Snuff do. 
Confectionery and Apothecaries’ Show do. Pickling and Preserving 
Jars; Pint, Quart, Half Gallon, Gallon and two Gallon Bottles; Quarts, 
Half Gallon and Two Gallon Demijohns, Oil, Vitriol and Aqua Fortis 
Glass Stopper Bottles; Druggists’ wide and narrow mouth packing do, 
from Half Pint up to Two Gallons; American Eagle, Ship, Franklin, 
Agricultural and Masonic Pocket Flasks, etc. 

“T. W. Dyort.” 

Dyott was a most persistent advertiser, agreed to help out country 
druggists, and sell them goods, taking produce in exchange. He adver- 
tised for broken bottles, particularly “broken Porter bottles.” 

ELLENVILLE, N. Y. Ulster County. 1848. Glass-works established by 
members of the West Willington Glass Co. : 

EMMET, FisHER & FLowers. East Cambridge, Mass. 1815. These men 
were South Boston glass-workers and opened a furnace in East Cam- 
bridge in 1815. Two years later this was sold at auction and bought 
by the New England Glass Co. See New England Glass Co. 

EXcELsior Co. Martin’s Ferry, Va. 1860? 

FaRMER’s Giass Co. Clarksburg, Mass. Incorporated, 1814. 

FISLERVILLE, N. J. Works established in 1850 by Jacob Fisler and Benjamin 
Beckett. In 1851 Beckett withdrew, and Edward Bacon took his place, 
the firm becoming Fisler and Bacon. The works were sold to John M. 
Moore in 1857, and Moore Bros. Glass Co. stands on the original site 
of the Fisler and Beckett Co. The name of the town became Clayton 
in 1867. 

Fort Pirr Works. Pittsburgh. Established by Curling and Price, 1830. 

Gaines, THomas. An Englishman working in a South Boston window glass 
factory induced the Boston Window Glass Co. to put in a six-pot 
furnace. 

GILLILAND. The Gilliland family seems to have been in the glass business 
for several generations, as agents at least before they became producers. 
In 1760, James Gilliland, dealer in earthenware, delft and glass in Wall 
Street, New York, advertised the following articles on sale in his shop: 
“Enameled and cabbage teapots, cut and ground glass decanters, tum- 
blers, punch and wine glasses.” (Interior of ancient glass-works, 
Figure 220.) About 1820 some workers from the New England Glass 
Works built a factory which was run under the firm name of Fisher 
and Gilliland. Plain decanters by them are still in use. In 1823 John 

Figure 220, page 366. 


[374] 





ROE, ES 


AMERICAN GLASS FACTORIES 





L. Gilliland built a glass factory called the South Ferry Factory, and 
though successful at first, it failed in 1854. 

GILLILAND’s BRooKLyN Grass Works. Established 1830. The following 
advertisement appears in Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser for 
January 1, 1830: “John L. Gilliland and Co.’s Plain, Moulded and 
Pressed Glass, and Joseph Baggott’s Cut Glass, have been removed from 
No. 23 Dock St. to 3 Minor St.” That competition raged keenly, the 
following extract from a long advertisement in the next issue of 
Poulson’s Advertiser plainly shows: 

“John Southan, 23 Dock St., has been the agent for Gilliland and 
Baggott’s glass. But they removed it, and he advertises that he is still 
able to supply every description of Glass, both Plain and Cut. That 
he has made connection with the Union Glass Works of Kensington, 
and assures the trade he will not be undersold. Though he is perfectly 
willing that his glass shall be removed by the favor of his customers, he 
does not intend his warehouse shall.” 

GERMANTOWN (Quincy), Mass. Had one glass-house recorded in 1750-60. 

Grassporo, N. J. Stanger Bros. erected a glass-works in Gloucester County. 
New Jersey, in 1775, which later received the name of Glassboro. 
Rink and Stanger built new works on the same site in 1813, and in 
1837 Thomas H. Whitney purchased the business and in 1840 took his 
brother Samuel A. Whitney into business with him, under the firm name 
of Whitney Bros. In 1887 a company was formed under the title of 
Whitney Glass Works. A whiskey bottle in the form of a log-cabin, 
one of the best known campaign bottles, was made by them in 1840. 
They also made the Jenny Lind bottles in 1850, globe shaped, with long 
slender necks; the same type was also made by several other firms. 

Giass House Co. New York. 1754-1757. 

Grass Housz, N. Y. Rensselaer County. This town was in 1805 called 
Rensselaer Village, and was the seat of an extensive glass factory. In 
1806 the company was incorporated, and was discontinued in 1852. 
In 1813 a force of 100 men were employed. 

GUILDERLAND, N. Y. Situated near Albany, N. Y. Opened glass-works in 
1786, became the Hamilton Manufacturing Co. in 1797, and closed 
in 1815. Made both window glass, bottles and flasks, some of the 
latter with design of Washington. The tribulations of these early 
glass-makers were excessive. They were constantly asking for Gov- 
ernment loans, and in 1793 the Legislature of the State of New York 
voted a loan of 3,000 pounds to the proprietors for eight years, the 
first three years without interest. It was proposed in 1796 to build 
here a town called Hamilton, the glass company and workmen to be 
exempt from taxes for five years. In 1792 they advertised for a flint 


[375] 





OLD GLASS 





glass maker, and added, “As this manufactory must be of great public 
utility, it is presumed they will receive the greatest encouragement from 
all American glass dealers.” 

Hammonton, N. J. In 1820 a glass-works was established by William 
Coffin. In 1836 the firm became Coffin and Hay, who added bottles and 
flasks to the window glass department. In 1844 William Coffin died 
and two of his sons succeeded him, making window glass only. The 
business was closed about 1858. 

Hart & Co., Joun. This name is found on a heart-shaped whiskey flask, in 
amber colour. 

Hemincray Giass Co. Cincinnati, Ohio. Established in 1848. They made 
tableware of all kinds, glass lamps, jars, demijohns, flasks, bottles, 
etc. The works were at Covington, Ky. 

Hewes, RoserT. From Boston, built glass-works at Temple, N. H., in 1779 
to 1780. The works were not successful, and operated only a short 
time. Harvard College is said to own some of their products. 

Hoare, Burns & Daity. In 1854 moved first to the South Ferry Works, 
Brooklyn, then to Greenpoint, and finally in 1873 to Corning, N. Y. 

HuFFsEY, SAMUEL. A glass-blower in Philadelphia in 1850, and owner of 
a glass-works in Camden, N. J., at the same period. Made bottles with 
the Kossuth and Jenny Lind designs and always put his name on them. 

HuUNNEWELL & Gore. Chelmsford, Mass. Had a glass-works from 1802- 
1827. It became the Chelmsford Glass Works in 1829. Moved to 
Suncook, N. H., in 1839; closed, 1850. 

KENSINGTON Grass Works. See Dyottville. (See Figure 221, made 1835.) 

KENSINGTON, PA. In 1820 workmen from New England started a glass~ 
works here, but they quarrelled among themselves and the business 
failed. 

KEENE, N. H. In 1814, by Act of Legislature, the New Hampshire Glass 
Factory was incorporated. Closed 1850. 

KEENE, N. H. 1815, the Marlboro Street Factory was built to make flint 
glass bottles and decanters. Closed about 1842. 

LANCASTER GLass Works. Lancaster, N. Y. Made bottles; one so marked 
is a bluish aquamarine with basket design. 

La BELLE CoMPaANy. Bridgeport, Ohio. About 1879. 

Lee, Mass. Glasshouse. One of the grants of land which were set off to 
form the town of Lee was called Glasshouse. The grant was made in 
1754 to John Franklin and his associates. In 1754 a further grant was 
made to encourage the making of “potash, cider, glass and cloth.” 
The venture is said to have been “pecuniarily unsuccessful.” 

Lenox Furnace. Lenox, Mass. In 1853 the Lenox Iron Co. built a glass- 
works near their iron furnace at Lenox. After a short run the glass- 

Figure 221, page 3068. 


[ 376 | 





AMERICAN GLASS FACTORIES 





works were burned, and immediately rebuilt, and leased to James N. 
Richmond, of Cheshire, Mass., in 1855. He kept them but a year, and 
then the Iron Company ran them successfully, making rough plate 
till 1862, when they were again burned. They were rebuilt, and have 
passed through many hands and under mauy names. 

LouisviLLE, Ky., Grass Works. This lettering is found on a whiskey flask, 
amber, with design of American eagle. The company was organised 
by Capt. J. B. Ford in 1875. 

LynpEBoro, N. H. See South Lyndeboro. 

Marrett, T. A. Established 1849. Manufacturer and glass cutter at 212 
Canal Street, New York. 

MartTIn’s Ferry, VA. Excelsior Co. 1860. 

MARYLAND Giass Works. 1850. Founded by John Lee Chapman, at Lan- 
caster and Caroline streets, Baltimore, Md. 

Mitrorp, N. J. 1800. 

MILtvittz, N. J. 1822. In 1880 there were four “green hollow ware and 
six white glass furnaces, run by Whitall, Tatum, and Co.” 

Morris, ROBERT AND JOHN NicHoLson. Erected a glass-house at the Falls 
of the Schuykill, Pa., in 1780-1786. 

McCuLty, Witu1AM. Pennsylvania, 1828. Operated the Sligo Works. 

New ALBANY, IND. 1869. Works were founded by Capt. J. B. Ford, and 
operated by W. C. De Pauw, after 1872. 

New ALBANY, Pa. 1831. Window glass house. 

New Beprorp, Mass. In 1861 glass-works were started here, but were not 
particularly successful, and were sold in 1869 to W. L. Libby, who 
reopened the works under the name of “Mt. Washington Glass Works,” 
and built a large addition to the works in 1880. 

New Britain, N. J. Isabella Glass Works, 1840. Bottles and flasks. 

New Encianp Grass Co. East Cambridge, Mass. 1817. These works 
started with a six-pot furnace, forty hands employed. In 1818, Bishop 
in “American Manufactures,” says of this company: “Two flint glass 
furnaces and 24 glass-cutting mills operated by steam, a red lead fur- 
nace capable of making two tons of red lead a week, enabled them to 
produce every variety of fine, plain, mould and richest cut-glass, as 
Grecian lamps, chandeliers for churches, vases, antique and transparent 
lamps, etc., for domestic supply and exportation to the West Indies 
and South America. Virginia coal, New Orleans lead and Delaware 
sand and other native materials were used.” 

The first lead furnace in the United States is believed to be the one 
built by Deming Jarves of the N. E. Glass Co. in 1818 for the manu- 
facture of lead for glass. It was a success. 

In 1823 many beautiful glass vessels of various kinds were made and 


[ 377 ] 





OLD GLASS 





sent into Boston. Mr. Jarves states that in 1852 five hundred hands 
were employed. In 1878 the works were leased to W. L. Libby and 
nine years later his son moved them to Toledo, Ohio. 

New GENEvA, Pa. Glass-works built by Albert Gallatin in 1797. Moved 
in 1809 to the Monongahela River, 90 miles south of Pittsburgh. These 
works were operated by Nicholson and Co. in 1814, and are recorded 
as being at work as late as 1832. The firm name was Gallatin and Co. 

NEw Lonpon, Conn. About 1860 a glass-works was established here, known 
as the Thames Glass Works. It operated only a short time. One 
bottle was made, an eagle design; reverse, anchor and scroll with the 
words “New London Glass Works.” 

New Winpsor, N. Y. Orange County. 1753-1785. 

New York City. Had two glass-works in 1732. (Tenth Census Report.) 

New York Grass House Co. This company was allowed by the Common 
Council of New York through the efforts of Matthew Earnest, in 1757, 
to construct a dock on city land for the use of the company, rent of one 
pepper-corn being demanded for the privilege. Previous to this they 
had used a dock for which the annual payment was no doubt con- 
siderably more. The following advertisement appeared for six inser- 
tions in the New York Gazette or Weekly Post Boy, for October and 
November, 1754: 

“Notice is hereby given. That there is to be sold by Thomas Lepper, 
Storekeeper to the Glass House Company, living at their store on the late 
Sir Peter Warren’s dock at the North River near Mr. Peter Mesier’s, 
all sorts of bottles from one Qt. to three Gallons and upwards as also a 
variety of other Glass Ware too tedious to mention, all at reasonable 
rates; and all Gentlemen that wants Bottles of any size with their 
names on them, or any Chymical Glasses, or any other sort of Glass 
Ware, may by applying to said Lepper, have them made with all 
expedition. N. B. Said Lepper gives ready money for ashes and old 
window glass.” 

Thomas Lepper acted merely as agent for the Glass House goods, 
his business being that of keeper of a Gentleman’s Ordinary at the 
Sign of the Duke of Cumberland. 

In 1758 an advertisement in the New York Mercury reads: “This is 
to inform the Publick that the new erected Glass House at Newfound- 
land within four miles of this City, is now at work, and that any 
Gentlemen may be supplied with Bottles, Flasks of any sort of Glass 
agreeable to directions. N. B. Any person that has Oak Wood to 
dispose of, by bringing to the above mentioned place, will receive the 
New York Price upon Delivery, by 

Matthew Earnest.” 


[ 378 ] 





AMERICAN GLASS FACTORIES 





Ten years later the proprietor of the Glass House is spoken of as a 
bankrupt in a report by Gov. Moore of New York to The Lords of 
Trade and Plantations. The reason given was, “he was deserted by his 
servants whom he had imported at great expense.” 

According to the Census New York State had thirteen glass factories 
in 1835. 

O’Hara Grass Works. Pittsburgh, Pa. “The triumphs of pressed glass 
came from Pittsburgh. James B. Lyon & Co., of the O’Hara Glass 
Works, made for many years pressed glass only, and in 1867 made an 
exhibit at the Paris Exposition and took first prize for fine pressed 
glassware.” 

Onewa Grass & IRON MANUFACTURING Co. ‘They began operations at 
Taberg, Oneida County, N. Y., in 1809. 

PERRYOPOLIS, PA. Flint glass house, 1831. 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. Glass worker named John Tittery, said to have arrived 
in 1683. There was one glass-house in the city in 1810, two in Phila- 
delphia Co. and one each in Wayne and Gyconing counties. 

Pitkin GLass Works. Manchester, Conn. 1783-1830. 

PitTsBuRGH, Pa. 1795. ‘There were five glass factories in Pittsburgh, in 1813, 
eight in 1826, thirty-three in 1857, nine of these being flint glass 
houses, and twenty-four being window, green and black glass. In 
Cramer’s Almanac for 1803 it is mentioned that “jars, decanters, tum- 
blers and blue glass,” are made in Pittsburgh. See Figure 222. 

PitrssurG CuT GLass Co. 1809. “From 1823 to 1827 when there were 
only a few glass-houses in Pittsburg, the ware was loaded in flats 
and take down the river, usually accompanied by one of the proprietors 
of the factory and traded for rags, beeswax, produce and whatever 
could be turned into money.” 

PorceLain & Giass MANUFACTURING Co. This was established at East 
Cambridge, Mass., about 1787, the place then being known as Craigie’s 
Point. In 1817 this plant was sold at auction, and bought by a new 
company called the New England Glass Co. In 1853 there were five 
furnaces with ten pots of 2,000 lbs. each and 500 hands. They moved 
to Ohio in the 80’s. They made both flint and coloured glass. See 
New England Glass Co. 

Quincy, Mass. Glass House from 1750-1760. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia gives 
the date as 1750 and says the works were probably built by Germans, 
and that only black glass of poor quality was made. 

RavENNA Gtass Co. Made bottles. 

Reprorp. On the Saranac River, in Clinton County, N. Y. Had in 1832 a 
large manufactory of crown glass, which was erected by John S. 
Foster. This was carried on with more or less success till 1852 when 

Figure 222, page 367. 


[ 379 } 





OLD GLASS 





it was finally abandoned. In 1833 Foster went to Redwood, Jefferson 
County, N. Y., and established a glass-works devoted to the manu- 
facture of cylinder glass. In 1860 a stock company was formed, and 
manufacture continued under the name of the Redwood Manufactur- 
ing Co. 

RocKVILLE, Pa. A glass-works was started here about 1815; window glass. 

Rosinson & ENsELL. Pittsburgh, Pa. Started flint glass-works in 1807. Sold 
in 1808 to Bakewell and Page, which later became Bakewell, Pears 
and Co. It was Trevor and Ensell, 1813-14. At one time the firm 
name was Robinson and Son. ‘They were the first makers of “white 
glass.” 

SAMUELS, A. R. Philadelphia, Pa. 1855. Made two designs of bottles with 
Masonic emblems. Both bear his initials. 

SaLEM, Mass. Glass-house built in 1639 by Ananias Concklin, Obadiah 
Holmes and Lawrence Southwick. The next year John Concklin was 
allotted land also for the encouragement of the enterprise. In 
Dec., 1641, the town of Salem loaned the proprietors £30, the men to 
repay it “if the work succeeded and they were able to.” In 1661, in 
the Colonial Records, the place is mentioned as “Glass House Field.” 

SaRATOGA County, N. Y. Is mentioned as having a glass-works at Mt. 
Pleasant in 18or. 

SANDWICH, Mass. See page 338. 

SCHUYLKILL GLass Works. Mentioned as “two miles from Philadelphia”; 
made glass in 1806-07, and a year later in addition to some flint glass 
made both green and white half gallon, quart and pocket bottles. In 
1810 Philip Jones and Co. owned the works. They were closed 
about 1823. 

SCHWENKSVILLE, Pa. On Perkiomen Creek, Pa. Had at one time.a glass- 
house founded by a member of the Pennypacker family. 

SEnEcA Guiass Co. Morgantown, West Virginia. Made souvenir tumblers 
with patriotic designs in 1896. 

SHEPARD & Co. Zanesville, Ohio. Made bottles, one design shows American 
eagle with letters “S. & Co.” Amber. 

SHEETs & Durry. Pennsylvania. Made bottles in clear glass with design 
of sheaf of wheat. See Dyottville. 

SMEEDES, JAN. He was the first glass-maker on the Island of Manhattan. 
“Glass-maker’s Street,” now South William, was named so on account 
of the importance of his shop. 

SoutH LynpEBoroucH, N. H. A bottle-works was started here in 1866. 

Stopparp, N. H. 1790. “New Granite Glass Co.” on deep amber bottle 
with eagle design. 


[ 380 ] 


a a 
AMERICAN GLASS FACTORIES 





STOUVENEL, F. 1837. He is the first glass-cutter of whom there is a record. 
At one time he had a retail shop on Broadway, New York. 

SUMNER, JOHN. 1809. Advertised cruets, salts, cheap cut tumblers, dishes, 
etc. Decanters in English flint. Factory closed in 1820. 

Tempie, N. H. In an article by Leonard H. Burbank, in Antiques for 
October, 1923, on “Glassmaking in New Hampshire,” he gives a very 
comprehensive study of the efforts of Robert Hewes to start a glass- 
works at Temple, N. H. Having apparently insufficient funds to start 
the works himself, he endeavoured to secure a grant from the State of 
New Hampshire in order to take care of his workmen, thirty-two of 
them. They were Hessian and Waldecker soldiers who had deserted 
from the British Army. He also needed help to build his factory. In 
1781 the Legislature authorised a lottery with which to raise $2,000 so 
that Hewes could carry out his project. But the lottery was a failure, 
and Hewes returned to his home in Boston. His workmen did not fare 
so well. They were “warned” to leave the town and it is said that sick- 
ness carried off a number of them. There were only two firings of 
glass at Temple, both failures. So it is probable that no specimens 
exist. 

Tuum & Birrers. North Third Street, Philadelphia. Made bottles in 1808. 

Trevor & ENsELL. On the Monongahela, Pa. 1813. 

Union Fiint Co. Established at Kensington, Pa., 1820, by men from the 
New England Glass Co., of East Cambridge, Mass. 

Utica Grass Works. Established at Utica, N. Y., in 1810 or 1811. They 
were soon abandoned and never revived. 

VermMonT Grass Factory. Salisbury, Vt. 1813. 

WasuincTon, D. C. “Old Glass House” was operated from 1807 to 1851 
under different ownerships. The factory was for window glass, as 
the following advertisement shows, but jars, toys, bottles and pocket 
flasks were made by the workmen for their own use, and as gifts to 
the visitors to the factory. “Window Glass of various sizes for sale 
Wholesale and Retail at the Glass Works in this city. Orders from 
all parts of the country will be duly attended to by Edwards, Way & 
Co. N. B. Sixteen cents per bushel will be given for clean Oak or 
Hickory Ashes delivered at the works. Washington City, Nov. 1, 1809.” 
(From the Records of the Columbia Historical Society.) 

WATERFORD, N. J. A window glass-works was established here about 1830, 
or a few years earlier, and bottles and hollow ware were made. The 
original proprietor was Jonathan Haines, who was succeeded by 
Porter, Shreve and Co., who continued till 1850, or a little later. The 
business was sold and was not finally closed till 1880. Made flasks in 
aquamarine, with eagle design. 


[ 381 ] 


enn nnn nn nnn nner cr 


OLD GLASS 





WELLsBuURG, VA. Had a glass-works here in 1815 for making white, flint, 
hollow and other glassware. In 1827 very beautiful glass was made 
here. In 1831 there were two flint glass furnaces at work, but in 
1854 they were demolished. 

WesTrForD, Conn. Business started by Westford Glass Co. in 1857. Name 
changed to E. A. Buck and Co. in 1863; closed in 1873. 

West WILLINGTON, Conn. The Willington Glass Co., 1830-48, was operated 
by Gilbert Turner and Co. who also owned the works at Coventry, 
Conn. In 1847 the company was sold to a new concern, and it was 
carried on till 1872. Hollow ware and bottles, pickle bottles in aqua- 
marine in many sizes were made. Some of the members of this com- 
pany established another glass-works at Ellenville, N. Y. 

WHALLEY, HUNNEWELL, and their associates, with their workmen Plumback 
and Cooper, in 1787 erected a large factory in Essex Street, Boston, for 
the purpose of making Crown window glass. Their enterprise was 
unsuccessful till about 1803 when a German named Lint arrived in 
this country, and was employed in the factory. 

WHEELING, West Va. First glass-works here 1821. In 1829 John and Craig 
Ritchie erected a flint glass-house here. It was a great success. Messrs. 
Sweeney put in a large flint glass-works in 1835; this was followed by 
the works built by Plunkett and Miller. This was bought and operated 
by J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Co. See Figure 223. 

In 1864 a firm at Wheeling, West Virginia (presumably Plunkett 
and Miller), brought about a revolution in the manufacture of glass by 
making a clear, brilliant glass with the aid of bicarbonate of soda and 
lime, at about one-third of the cost of lead or flint glass. 

WHEELING, WEsT VA. 1863, Central Glass Works established here. 

Wuitney Grass Works. Glassboro, N. J. See Glassboro. 

Wistar, Caspar. Allowaystown, Salem County, N. J. 1739-1775. 

WILLIAMSPORT, PA. Window glass. 1810-1831. 


Figure 223, page 368. 


[ 382 ] 








INDEX 


A 


“Adlerglas,” 81 

Air twist, 128, 129 

Altare, 34, 35 

“American Flint Glass,” 241 

American Glass, 209-382 

American glass factories, 369-382 

American newspapers, 10 

“Annals of Bristol,” 153 

Antoninus, 4 

“Antiques,” 219, 179, 318, 347, 
349 

Artificial pearls, 37, 38, 47, 106 

Assyria, 6 


Baccarat, 104 

Ballarin, 36 

Barber, E. A., 275, 284, 351 

Barcelona, 85, 95, 96 

Bate, Percy, “English Glass,” 
tsi 24, 125,126, 127, 128, 
129 

Bavaria, 80 

Beads, 48, 49, 50 

Belfast, 126, 147, 174, 197 

Belgium, 62 

Berlin Museum, 32 

Beroviero, Angelo, 37 

Beverages, 121 


Bird knob, 168 

Birmingham, 126, 154 

“Blazes,” 192 

Blown glass, 145, 276 

Blowpipe, 3 : 

Bohemian Glass, 8, 51-62, 83, 
106 

Bohemian glass-works, 53, 59, 60 

Bonhomme, H. and T., 73 

Bontemps, 106 

“Boston News Letter,” 147 

Boston and Sandwich Glass Co., 
338, 341, 343-348 

Bottles, 180, 203, 211, 214-219, 
221, 248, 253-255, 277, 281, 
308, 309, 314, 316, 317 

Bottles and flasks, 283-288 

Briati, Guiseppe, 36, 56 

Bristol, 124, 126, 130, 145, 147 

Bristol Blue Glass, 156, 157, 167 

Bristol Glass, 152-169 

Bristol gilass-houses, 152, 153, 
157 

Bristol glass-makers, 168 

Bristol Museum, 155, 156 

“Bristol tradition,” 168, 245 

British Museum, 4, 34, 81, 101 

Buckingham, Duke of, 109 

Buckley, Francis, “English Bal- 
uster Stemmed Glasses of 


XVII and XVIII Centuries,” 
144 


[ 385] 


INDEX 


“Bull’s Eyes,” 78 

Burbank, Geo. E., 340 

Buswell Collection, 215, 216, 
210, 221, 222, 223, 244, 240, 
250, 251, 277, 283, 306 


C 


Cadalso, 85, 96 

Cameo Glass, 158 

Candelabra, 179, 192 

Candlesticks, 133, 249, 256 

Catalufia, 96 

Chance Bros. and Co., 169, 170 

Chance, Henry, 279 

Chance, ‘‘On the Manufacture of 
Glass,” 253 

Chance, Robert. Lucas, 169 

Chandeliers, 150, 151, 192 

Charming Forge, 220 

Chevron bead, 49 

China, 6, 7 

Chinese style, 155 

Clubs, 119-122 

Congressional Library, 60 

Coin glasses, 105 

Cologne, 78 

Coloured glass, 105, 106, 130, 
132, 133, 145, 148, 150, 154, 
167, 170, 198, 214, 247, 248, 
281, 345, 349, 350 

Congress Spring Co., 281, 282 

Constantine, 4 

Cork, 126, 174 

“Cork Glass Co.,” 199, 200 


Cork Glass House, 198 

“Corner pots,’ 252 

Cotton stems, 129 

Craig, Isaac, 252 

Crusaders, 100 

Crystal Glass, 37, 52, 72, 104, 
144, 154 

“Crystallo ceramie,” 158 

“Cullet,” 10 

“Curiosities of Glass Making,” 9 

Cut-glass, 278 


D 


“Daily Advertiser,” 273 

Decanters, 181, 182, 201, 242, 
252, 278, 305, 306 

De Colnet, 71 

De Lannoy, Cornelius, 9 

Diamond cutting, 200 

Diamond-point etching, 24, 52, 
73, 76, 125 

Diane de Poitiers, 103 

Dillon: “Glass,” 5, 32, 54, 76, 
79, 97, 108 

Doge of Venice, 29, 31, 32 

Dolphin, 167, 168, 339 

Domestic Glass, 125, 148 

Doorstops, 167 

“Doppelwandglas,” 56 

Dorflinger, A. F., 341 

“Double-dipped glass,” 214 

Dou, Gerard, 76 

Drinking glasses, 110, 119, 122, 


[ 386 ] 





INDEX 





126-129, 132-143, 180, 202, 
245, 246, 307 
Drinking vessels, 98, 209 
Dublin, 126, 174 
Dublin and Cork Glass, 195-204 
Dublin tint, 197 
Durer, Albrecht, 52 
Dutch and Flemish Glass, 62-78 
Dutch workmen, 213 
Duyckingk, Evert, 210 


E 


“Economic History of New 
England,” 210 

Edkins, Michael, 155 

Ege, George, 242, 243 

Egyptians, 3, 6, 38, 48 

Elizabeth Furnace, 221 

Elizabeth, Queen, 8 

Emperor Ferdinand III, 51, 53 

Enamel, 157 

Enamelled glass, 5, 6, 53, 86, 
10I, 249 

England, 6, 8, 9, I1 

Engraved glass, 97, 246, 247 

Engraving by wheel, 24 

English Glass, 108-152 

English glass-making, 177 

English Flint Glass, 57 

English and Irish glass in Amer- 
ica, 147, 148 

Evans’ ‘“‘History of Bristol,” 153 

Evelyn’s Diary, 109, 110 


Excise duty, 176, 200 
Export of Irish Glass, 202, 203 


F 


Faulkner’s Dublin Journal, 195 

Feast of the Roses, 243, 244 

Ferdinand of Aragon, 95 

Fesselschade, Maria, 74 

“Fiat” glasses, 123 

Fichtelberger, 80 

“Fifty Years of Glass Making,” 
23 

Flanders, 62, 71 

Flashing, 25 

Flavianus, Petrus, 29 

Flint Glass, 10, 110, 180, 196, 
198, 253, 255, 278, 343, 344 

Flip glasses, 246, 249, 307 

Fluoric acid etching, 25 

Forgeries, 26, 27, 154, 173, 194, 
275 

Formulas, 9, 10 

Foster, John, 308 

France, 6 

French Glass, 99-108 

French workmen, 170, 172 

Frontincennes, 103 

Fuel for glass, 108, 109 


G 


Gallatin, Albert, 252 
‘““Gallerie des Glaces,”’ 102 
Gallo, Andrea and Domenico, 71 


[ 387] 





INDEX 





Gas as fuel, 14 

Gastaldi, 33 

Gatchell and Co., 178, 179 

Gatchell, Jonathan, 178 

Gatchell and Walpole, 178 

Gentlemen _ glass-workers, 
103, 125, 126 

Germans, 23 

Germany, 32, 79 

German Glass, 6, 53, 78-85 

“German Glass Drinking Ves- 
sels Painted in Enamel Col- 
ours,” 80 

Ghent, 56 

Gilding on glass, 96, 194 

Gin glasses, 134 

Glasgow, 126 

Glass balls, 172 

Glass bells, 171 

Glass-blowing, 13, 23 

Glass-cutting, 14, 24, 110, 343 

Glass-cutting works, 126 

Glass-cutters in England, 146 

Glass furnaces, 126 

Glass-houses in England, 110 

Glass in blocks, 35 

Glass-making, 10, 11, 12, 13 

Glass-making in America, 210 

Glass-maker’s tools, 12 

Glass-painting, 80 

Glass-workers, 171, 172, 173 

Glassboro, N. J., 217 

Glatz, 59 

Goblets, 131, 132 

Great Britain, 197 


102, 


Greece, 32 

Greek Glass, 61 
Greek workmen, 100 
Guilds, 82 

Guionet, 99 


H 


Haida, 51, 58 

Hammond, Otis G., 310, 312 

Harburg, 82 

Harris, Joseph, 178 

Hartley’s, 154 

Hartshorne, “Old English 
Glasses,” 71, 104, 122, 126, 
134 

Hero glasses, 123 

Historic bottles, 283 

Historic cup plates, 318-338 

“History of Keene, N. H.,” 312 

“History of Stoddard, N. H.,” 
308 

Hob-nail cutting, 192 

Holland, 79 

Holmes, John, 146 

Houghton’s “Letters,” 153 

Huber, Jacob, 220 

Hulme, E. W., “English Glass- 
making in the XVI and XVII 
Centuries,” 10 

Hunting glasses, 82 

Hunter Collection of Stiegel 
Glass, 244 

Hunter, Dr. Pleasant, 251 


[ 388 ] 





INDEX 





Hunter, “Stiegel Glass,” 213, 
220, 243 


“Tgel,” 80 

Independence Hall, 150, 151 
India, 6 

Irish Glass, 146, 147, 174-203 
Irish glass-making, 177 

Italy, 6 


J 


Jacobs, Isaac, 156 

Jacobs, Lazarus, 156 

Jamestown, Va., 209 

Jarves, Deming, 338, 340, 343, 
344, 345, 350 

Jarves’ patents, 339, 340 

Jug handles, 194 


K 


“Kalligraphen ornamente,” 55 
Keene, N. H., 308 

Keene Glass, 312-315 
Kerfoot, J. B., 217 

King, Réne, 100 

Knobs, 274, 275, 276 
Kinckel, Johann, 54 


L 


“L’Arte Vetraria,” 54, 55 
La Granja de San IIdefonso, 96, 


97 


Lamps, 256, 273, 274 

Latticinio, 72, 98, 170, 172 

Lawton, Herbert, 216, 251 

Lehmann, Caspar, 8, 53, 209 

Lewis, Sidney J., “Old Glass and 
How to Collect It,” 157 

Liége, 75. 

Little and Longman, 155 

“Little Red Book of Bristol,” 
152 

London, 8, 126 

“London Company,” 210 

“Long Elizas,” 155 

Lorraine, 125 

Low Countries, 6, 25, 79, 104 

Lucas, Chance, Homer and 
Coathupe, 169 

Lucas, John R., 169 

Lucas, Robert, 169 

Luna, 33 

Lustre cutting, 191 

Lyon, James B., & Co., 343 


. M 


“Made in Czecho-Slovakia,” 60 

Madrid, 96 

Manchester, Conn., 315 

Manheim, 220, 221, 222, 224, 
242, 245, 248, 250 

Mansel, Sir R., 109 

Mantle sets, 149 

Mantua, 30 

“Manufactoire Royale des 
Glaces,” 102 


[ 389 ] 


INDEX 





Marco Polo, 37, 38 

Marguerite of Austria, 71 

Maria Theresa, 56 

“Metal,” 176 

Metropolitan Museum, N. Y., 3, 
214-216; 223, 244, 276, 278; 
285, 287, 288, 309, 310, 316, 
345, 349, 352 

Mexican Glass, 351, 352 

Millefiori, 35, 106, 107, 149 

Miotti, Antonio, 33, 38, 72 

“Milchglas,” 57 

Mirrors, 30, 32, 35, 47, 48, 71, 
78, IOI, 102, 108, 109 


Miseroni, Girlamo and Gas- 
pardo, 52, 53 

Mitton, Mrs. Geo. W., 339) 
344, 348 


Moore, Edward C., 3 

Monteiths, 143 

Monongahela River, 252 

Mottoes on glasses, 124 

Moulded glass, 145, 201 

Moulds, 23 

Mount Vernon, Va., 193 

Mount Washington Glass Co., 
343 

Mugs, 132, 157, 158, 249, 277 

Murano, 5, 30-34, 56, 79 

Murano Museum, 36, 56 

‘“Muranese and Altarist Glass 
Workers,” 72 

Murcia, 86 

“Munster,” 197 


Nailsea, 154, 155 

Nailsea flasks, 170 

Nailsea Glass, 169-174 

“Nailsea Glass Works,” 169 

National Library of Ireland, 202 

National Museum, Dublin, 191 

Nehou, Louis, 102 

Nehou, Richard Lucas de, 102 

Neri, Antonio, 55 

New Bedford, Mass., 338 

New England, 180 

“New Granite Glass Co., 310 

New Hampshire Glass Factory, 
313 

New Hampshire Historical So- 
ciety, 310, 312 

New, York, 180 

New York Gazette and Mer- 
cury, 224, 242 

Nivernais, 100 

Normandy, 34, 100, 125 | 

Nuremberg, 51, 52, 53, 78, 79, 
82 


O 
O’Hara and Craig, 252 
Oil for lamps, 273 
“Old Irish Glass,” 191 
Opaque glass, 156 
“Orford Parish Chapter,” 315 


P 
Padua, 30 
Paper-weights, 158, 167, 219 


[ 390 ] 





INDEX 





Paris, 100 

Patterns on glass, 145 

Paulo, Geronimo, 93, 96 

Pellatt, Apsley, 9, 35, 158 

Pepper pots, 149 

Pennsylvania Museum of Fine 
Arts, 6, 32, 36, 83, 157, 192, 
284, 287, 351, 352 

Pennsylvania Gazette, 222 

Pennsylvania Historical Society, 
221 

Pennsylvania Journal and 
Weekly Advertiser, 222 

“Penrose,” 182 

Penrose, George and William, 
178 

Pergola, Paolo, 37 

Perry and Wood, 313 

Persia, 6 

Phoenix Flint Glass Works, 153 

Pilgrim bottles, 104 

Pitkin, Albert H., 316 

Pitkin Glass, 315-318 

Pitkin Glass export trade, 316 

Pitkin family, 315 

Pittsburgh, 252 

Pokale, 54, 83 

Pontil mark, 26, 127, 128, 130 

Potash-lime glass, 78 

Portland vase, 4 

Pot metal, 253, 254 

Pottsdam, 54 

Powell and Ricketts, 154 

Prague, 36, 54, 56 

Pressed glass, 338, 342, 343 


Pretender’s glasses, 123 
“Printies,’ 191, 197 

Prisms, 151 

Prunts, 74, 77, 79, 105 
Public houses, 110, 119, 122 
Pugh, Thomas and John, 198 
Punch bowls, 143 


Q 


Queen Elizabeth, 124 

Queen Isabel, 95 

Quilted and ribbed, 306, 307, 
308 


R 


Ramsey, Gatchell and Barcroft, 
178 

Ravenna, 30 

“Records of Virginia Company 
in London,” 210 

“Reichshumpen,” 81 

Riano, Juan F., 86 

Rijks Museum, 71, 73, 74, 76, 
Va 

Ring of glass, 27, 197, 198 

Rings on decanters, 181, 182 

Rinsing bowls, 277, 278 

Rivo-Alto, 29 

Robinet pump, 104 

Roche, Capt. Philip, 195 

Roemer, Anna, 73 

Roemers, 73, 74, 79, 80 

Roemer, Vischer, 73 

Rolling-pins, 170 

Roman Glass, 3, 4 


[ 391 ] 





INDEX 





Rosenhain, Walter, 13, 26 

Round Glass House, Dublin, 
195 

Ruby Glass, 54, 57, 58, 157 

Rudolph II, 52 

Rummers, 132 

Ryley, “Old Bohemian Glass,” 
51, 52, 53 


S 


Salem, Mass., 210 

Salt-cellars, 148, 241, 242, 245, 
247, 248, 347, 349 

Sand in America, 253 

Sandwich, Mass., 318 

Sandwich Glass, 174, 338-351 

Sandwich Co-operative Glass 
Co., 347 

Sandwich lamp-shades, 345 

Saracens, 5 

Saratoga Glass, 280, 281, 282 

Sauzay, ‘Wonders of Glass 
Making,” 37, 99, 103, 104 

“Schaperglaser,” 82 

Schaper, Johann, 82 

Schuerman’s “Letters,” 95 

Schwanhardts, 51, 53, 54 

Sets of glass, 148 

Sheffield plate, 143 

“Small Glass,” 241, 242 

Smeedes, Jan, 144 

Smithsonian Museum, 176, 180, 
193, 214, 352 

South Jersey Glass, 217, 218 

Spain, 6, 96, 97 


Spanish Glass, 85-99 

“Special Report of Manufactur- 
ers,” 277, 280 

Splashing and striping, 105 

St. Gobain, 102 

Staley, “Dogaressas of Venice,” 
27 

Stamp Act, 222 

Standing lights, 151 

Stannus, Mrs. Graydon, “Old 
Irish | Glass,” 29," 191 aoe 
197 

Steinschonau, 51 

Stems of glasses, 127-131, 192 

Step-cutting, 83, 193 

Sterns, S. M., 281, 282 

Stiegel Glass, 168, 220-251 

Stiegel goods, 222, 223, 224 

Stiegel patterns, 249, 250 

Stiegel, Wm. Henry, 220, 242, 
244 

Stourbridge, 145, 146, 147 

Stow, Chas. Messer, 340, 341, 
342 

Strawberry cutting, 191, 196 

Stoddard Glass, 308-312, 314 

Sunburst, 305-310 

Swag and line cutting, 192 

Sweetmeat glasses, 134 


Zk 
Table glass, 154 
“Tale” goods, 176 
Tatum, “One Hundred Years 
of Glass Achievement,” 254 


[ 392 ] 


eee 
INDEX 
ce ee 


Tavern glasses, 119 

Tea caddies, 143 

Teflis, 8 

“Tenth Census of the United 
States,” 58 

Terrace Glass Works, 199 

Theodosius II, 4 

“The Americana,” 35 

“The American Flint 
Factory,” 224 

“The Connoisseur,” 169, 173 

“The Expert,” 71, 73 

“The Journal of Industrial and 
Engineering Chemistry,” 14 

The Netherlands, 62 

Three-section mould pieces, 252, 
305-309 

““Tiefgeschnitten,” 55 

Tint of old glass, 144, 175, 176 

Toledo Museum, 285, 345, 349 

Trailing, 25 

“Transcript,” 340 

Treviso, 30 


Glass 


U 


Use of coal, 252, 253 


V 


Van Rensselaer, Stephen, ‘‘Early 
American Bottles and Flasks,” 
284 

Venice, 8, 51, 125, 168 

Venetian Glass, 6, 28-50, 52, 56, 
71, 72, 85, 97, 104, 108, 157 


Venetian glass-makers, 9, 170, 
172 

Verzellini, Jacob, 124-128 

Vicenza, 30 

Victoria and Albert Museum, 5, 
6,7) 30; 37;-53, $4, 79, 81, 
84-95, 123, 127, 182 

Vienna, 79 

Vitro di Trina, 35 

Vonéche, 104 


W 


Wadham, Rickets & Co., 153 
Wallace-Dunlop, 35 
Washington, General, 129, 179 
Waterford Glass, 126, 143, 146, 
147, 150, 154, 174, 175, 178- 
195, 197, 279 
Waterford drops, 193 
Waterford edges, 191 
Waterford Glass in America, 
179-181 
Waterford goods, 179-181 
“Waterford Mirror,” 179 
Waterford tint, 182, 203 
Waterford workmen, 179 
Waterloo Glass House, 199, 200 
Webster, Daniel, 343 
Wedgwood, 171, 179 
Weight of glass, 144 
Westropp, Dudley, ‘Irish Glass,” 
II, 145-147, 154, 174, 175, 
178, 180, 182, 195, 198, 201 
Whitney Glass Works, 217, 283 


[{ 393 ] 


renee peeenpeysciperaseseshortmnamisacrs even eensnsaeatie seats ee 
INDEX 
“Willkommen,” 81 Wistarberg balls, 215 
Williams, Mrs. J. M., 317 Wistarberg Glass, 212-220 
Williams, Richard, & Co., 196 Wylde, “German Enamelled 
Wine glasses, 128-132, 148, 277, Glasses,” 79-81 
278 


Window-glass, 30, 35, 108, 211, Y 

213, 314 
Wines, 131, 132 Yoxall, “Collecting Old Glass,” 
Wistar, Caspar, 213, 214, 218, 143, 144, 154, 155 

243 Yriate, “Venice,” 31, 36, 48, 56 


THE END 


[ 304] 











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01640 66 


iii 


THE TAPESTRY BOOK 


BY Flelen Churchill Candee 


‘Tas book traces the complete history 
of tapestry from the modest beginnings in 
classic times through the glorious period 
of the Renaissance down to our own time. 
The methods used by the makers in early 
days and the skillful designing and weav- 
ing of the great masters are described in 
detail. The great periods of the Gobelins 
and Beauvais schools are given particular 
attention. For the better identification of 
the famous makers the tapestry marks are 
dealt with in a separate chapter. 

While the book represents a thorough 
and expert study of the subject, the more 
than hundred illustrations render it inter- 
esting for the layman as well as for the 
student of industrial art. 


By the Author of “Early American Inns and Taverns.”’ 
be Ly > 
“Where Shakespeare Set His Stage,” 
“Sunny Days in Italy,” ete. 


Woe orice 
oe Houses 3 O 


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az 


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cA yp, exica 


‘ 


ELISE 
LATHROP 





OMMENCING with the several claimants to the title of 

“oldest house in America” Miss Lathrop considers, sectionally, 
hundreds of houses, from humble cabins to magnificent Georgian 
mansions, that have seen stirring or otherwise interesting moments 
in the building of our nation. The lovely houses of old Charleston, 
the homes of the Virginia Cavaliers and, later, of some of our 
greatest statesmen, the Patroon homes in upper New York State, 
the white farmhouses of early New England, the sturdy stone 
residences about Philadelphia, all are considered with a loving 
fidelity to the details of their histories that will render them doubly 
interesting to the modern visitor. There are plantation houses, 
houses of great architectural charm, houses with memories of great 
men and fine ladies, houses with ghosts. . . . In short, the author 
has carried on, though on a far larger canvas, the difficult and valu- 
able work which won such high praise for her earlier book, 
Early American Inns and Taverns. 





